


The Death and Burial of Marisa Kirisame

by UnmovingGreatLibrary



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Afterlife, Death, F/F, Gen, Ghosts, POV Third Person, Past Tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-05
Updated: 2014-12-05
Packaged: 2018-02-28 07:40:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2724179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnmovingGreatLibrary/pseuds/UnmovingGreatLibrary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the middle of her most important project yet, Marisa Kirisame dies.</p><p>But things rarely end so simply in Gensokyo. Now, she has one week as a ghost to settle her affairs, say goodbye to old friends, and confess to the girl she loves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Marisa had to be honest with herself: she was in love with Reimu Hakurei.

They'd known each other practically since they were old enough to walk, so it was hard to say when it had happened. There'd never been any big moment of revelation. Reimu had crept into her heart piece by piece, without her even realizing.

It had been the little things that had helped her figure it out. The way she kept finding herself spending her scarce disposable income on knickknacks that she knew Reimu would like. The longing hours she'd spent sitting on the shrine's front step while Reimu was imprisoned on the moon. The guilt she'd felt one time that Reimu had overheard her play-flirting with Patchouli. So now, it was time for one big thing to announce her devotion.

Marisa had never been subtle in her life, and this definitely wasn't going to be an exception. She had it all planned out. She usually put on a fireworks show for Bon anyway, and this year she'd make the biggest, most extravagant and beautiful fireworks that Gensokyo had ever seen. She'd take Reimu's hand, ask her out, and once she'd said yes, kiss her as gleaming pyrotechnic rainbows shined down from the heavens.

It was the perfect plan.

The only problem was one mistake while she was making the fireworks. One stray spark from a mix of powdered metals that she burnt to test for color. A little bad luck, a few too many explosives and oxidizers kept a little too close to her desk...

The next thing Marisa knew, she was sitting on the ground outside her cottage. Dazed and not quite able to remember what she'd been doing, she sat in confusion for a moment... and hadn't yet gotten her bearings back yet when her front door cartwheeled past. The same shockwave that was propelling it rushed over her, a brief hell of heat and pressure. Coughing, she waved the dust from her face, then pushed herself up to standing to take a look back at her cottage.

Her place had seen better days. The explosion had blown out all of the windows, and most of the side wall had collapsed. Past the heap of splintered wood and the black smoke, she could spot guttering flames in the interior. Lacking the support of one wall, the roof was sagging dangerously, while the cottage's frame groaned in a way that suggested that it might not hold out long.

It was far from the first time that Marisa had accidentally blown something up, but it was easily the worst. She could only watch, stunned, as the roof slowly drooped down. The frame shuddered in protest, then pushed outward with the splintered squeals of twisting wood. With a few cracks, the last of the supports snapped, and the front half of the cottage collapsed on itself, leaving broken beams jutting out into the air. With a few final groans, the twisted structure came to rest. The sight of her cottage—and with it, practically everything she'd owned—crashing to the ground felt... unreal. She knew that she should be terrified or angry, but it just felt too faraway.

In the aftermath of the collapse, things suddenly felt eerily quiet. She could still hear the gentle crackling of a fire somewhere deep in the mess that used to be her house, but other than that, there was no sound. No birds chirping, no distant fairies playing in the trees, nothing. It was like the entire Forest of Magic had paused to have a moment of silence for her poor house. It didn't help make the scene feel any less surreal, but Marisa was slowly forcing her jumbled thoughts to flow again.

There wasn't much she was going to be able to do about this alone. The mini-Hakkero was buried somewhere in that mess, and even if she'd had it, heat magic wasn't going to make this situation any better. If she was going to salvage anything out of this, she was going to need help.

* * *

“Alice! Alice! Yo! Are ya in there!”

The run to Alice's cottage had strangely not left Marisa breathless, and she wasted no time in beating on the magician's door upon arrival. It wasn't looking good, though... the windows were dark, and she couldn't hear anything moving inside. She sneaked around the side to peek in a window, and... nothing. Shelves of lifeless dolls staring blankly into space. Damn. Pulling away from the window, she weighed her options. If she hurried, she might be able to reach the Scarlet Devil Mansion and, assuming Patchouli believed her, get her back to her cottage within an hour or so. Patchouli could do water magic, which would be kind of useful if the fire spread, but wasn't going to be much use at digging through the wreckage. Then again, once the fire was out, that could wait...

“What are you doing?”

Marisa whirled around to find herself face-to-face with Alice, who did not look amused at finding a known thief looking in the windows of her unoccupied cottage. “A-ah, hey, Alice! I was just lookin' for you!”

“I'm sure you were.”

“No, I mean! I could use your help, and there's not much time, okay? I kinda, uh, accidentally blew my house up.”

“You blew your house up,” Alice said dryly. Her eyes drifted down over Marisa for a moment, and an annoyed flush rose in her cheeks. The dollmaker had a basket held in her hands, but the Shanghai dolls flanking her were already subtly shifting themselves into a more combat-ready stance. “You look remarkably clean for a pyromaniac. Do you want to tell me why you're actually here, or should we have a spellcard battle to find out?"

“Eh?” Marisa took a glance down at herself, and found that Alice was right. There wasn't a single smudge of soot on her clothes. Even her apron, usually covered in multiple layers of stains, was lily white. It was probably the cleanest she'd looked in weeks. Only now, far removed from the explosion, did she realize what a miracle it was that she'd escaped unharmed. “W-well, I dunno how that happened, but...!” Marisa's mind raced, and she glanced toward the direction of her cottage. There, showing above the treetops, was a pillar of thin smoke. “A-ah! Over there! See? It's burnin', okay?! ... crap, it's burning. We've gotta go. I'll explain on the way!”

Marisa didn't wait for Alice to respond, but she could hear a cry of, “Hey, slow down!” behind her as she dashed into the underbrush. The path between her house and Alice's was a rarely-walked one, narrow enough that briars and sticks scratched at her arms, but she didn't let it slow her down. The sight of that smoke column had instilled new panic into her, and yet... she felt strangely calm, without the sharp edge that she associated with adrenaline rushes. The run left her enough time for her racing thoughts to cover the strange situation. If her place really was burning, Alice wouldn't be much help. Half of her dolls were full of gunpowder and a bit prone to exploding if you squinted at them wrong, to begin with. Even the ones who weren't gunpowder-filled were still made of wood, so sending them into a burning building probably wouldn't accomplish much. She'd have to go get Patchouli, and after another delay at _this_ point, there might not be anything left to save by the time the two reached it, anyway. She could try her hand at a water spell herself, but she'd never really practiced them, and most of her reference materials were somewhere inside the building she was trying to save in the first place...

Cresting a small hill, the cottage came into view again, and she slowed to a stop. It didn't look quite as bad as she'd feared,. A few hot embers still glowed in the mess, letting out plenty of smoke, but it looked like most of the actual fire had been suffocated by the collapsing roof.

With a slight rustling of grass, Alice settled onto the ground next to her, while dolls more slowly floated down to join her. “You were telling the truth...” she said, sounding a bit surprised. “What _happened_?”

“I dunno. Something with the fireworks I was makin'.” Marisa set off down the hill, a bit less hurried now. “Think your dolls can move the rubble? I want to save some of my stuff.”

“Should that really be your first concern? You just survived an explosion, after all. We should take you to Eientei for... Er." Alice had been hurrying after Marisa, but now slowed to a stop and inspected her again. "... you actually don't have a scratch on you. How did you manage that?” She trailed off, her eyes drifting over to the door, stabbed into the ground at the end of a long series of splinter-lined gashes.

“I dunno,” Marisa said. She approached the cottage cautiously, then squatted down by the edge. With the roof collapsed down at an angle, she could just see into the interior, now mostly free of smoke. What little she could see looked promising: Her shelves had all toppled over in the collapse, but the books looked otherwise unharmed. Maybe a little smoke-damaged, but with any luck, she could salvage most of her stuff, throw up another house in a few weeks of magically-aided work, and be back in the rhythm of things in a month. It was a heartening thought. She rose to her feet, and after eyeing the arrangement of the collapsed structure, grabbed a chunk of wall and started dragging it away. “Guess I was thrown clear. Pretty lucky, huh? C'mon, grab some house and get movin'. Maybe if we're quick, I can get my stuff outta here by dark.”

“There aren't still more explosives in there, are there...?” Alice asked, approaching it more cautiously.

“I don't know. I doubt it! Besides, it looks like the fire's mostly gone. I figure it's pretty safe.” Marisa dropped the chunk of rubble she was carrying and wiped her hands on her apron before realizing that no soot had stuck to them in the first place. With that, she took a moment to look over the cottage and make a plan of attack. Getting the roof off would be the hard part, since that had mostly remained in one piece. Maybe if she had an axe or something, she could smash it apart to make it more manageable...

“Where do you plan to store your things even if you do get them out?” After studying the structure a little, herself, Alice signaled her dolls forward with a subtle gesture. A small team of them cooperated to grab a section of the roof and start tugging on it. “... and don't say that you'll store it at my place, because I'm running out of room already. I just got my dollmaking supplies for the next few months.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I'll figure it out.”

“I'm sure that you will. I—“ Mere meters from Alice, the crew of dolls finally managed to dislodge their chunk of roof. With one final tug, they started dragging it backward, and the entire structure groaned as the weight redistributed itself. The roof section slid free and crashed to the ground, and with it came a rather large support beam. It had apparently been propping up most of the rest of the roof, since it creaked momentarily before it finished collapsing into the cottage. In a cloud of dust and the shriek of splintering wood, the roof cracked into pieces, and the surviving walls slanted outward under the additional strain.

“Hey! Good goin'. That'll make it a lot easier to move the rest,” Marisa said. She moved in to grab another piece, then paused, as she noticed that Alice was frozen in place and staring into the rubble. “Find somethin'?”

“I...” Alice had to force herself to look away, and just seeing her expression convinced Marisa to start walking around the building. “I think you need to see this, yes.”

“Uh... 'kay.” Marisa stepped around the corner of the ruined building and leaned in to inspect the ruined interior through a hole in the wall. It took a moment for her to realize that the splintered wood scattered in front of her was the right color to be the remains of her desk. Here at ground zero of the explosion, the damage was bad enough that it took a second for her eyes to start making any sense of it. A smudged piece of white cloth peeking out from the rubble was the first thing to catch her attention. Her eyes traced along the hidden contours of the object, then settled onto the one other part of it that was visible. Under the circumstances, she needed a moment to realize what she was looking at: The blood and dust coating it left it almost featureless, but the thing in front of her was undoubtedly a human hand.

Behind her, Marisa could hear Alice vomiting, but it barely registered. That feeling of surreality was back, at full force this time. Nobody else had been in her house when the explosion happened... so that would mean... Her reluctance to enter the shaky structure was gone instantly. She hefted herself over the jagged edge of a collapsed wall and hurriedly picked her way through the rubble, then started grabbing chunks of it and tossing it aside, not caring what she crushed in the process. The first thing she uncovered was the front of a dress, with rips and burnt holes through it. Pushing aside a fallen shelf revealed a leg, with a familiar shoe at the end...

Marisa carefully stepped over to the other side, then grabbed a larger section of roof and hefted it up. Only now, with her thoughts racing in her head, did she realize that everything had been wrong all along. Even with the sudden exertion of sprinting to Alice's cottage and back, she couldn't feel her pulse. Sifting through the burnt ruins hadn't left a single smudge of ash on her clothes. She still couldn't explain how she'd gotten out of the explosion unharmed...

And as the piece of rubble lifted up, it revealed the last piece of evidence. The hair had gotten seared toward the tips, but plenty of the messy blonde curls were left. The side of her head was plastered in enough blood to hide the wound beneath matted hair. Despite the damage, it was still hard to mistake the sight of her own face staring up lifelessly.

She couldn't stop herself now. She was practically operating on autopilot, her hands moving before she consciously realized what she was doing. Two fingers pressed to the side of the corpse's neck. There was no pulse, not that she was expecting one. The skin was already rapidly cooling to match the evening air.

"Holy shit," Marisa mumbled, as she slumped back to sit in the burnt wreckage of her house. "I'm _dead_."


	2. Chapter 2

“S-so it _is_ you,” Alice said from the edge of the clearing, with her voice still shaky from the shock.

“It... it looks like me, y-yeah,” Marisa said. Everything felt wrong. It didn't feel like her brain was connected to the rest of her, the part that was still talking to Alice and wiping her hands absently on her apron. Here she was, reeling and lost, and some fragment of her was still able to focus on the matters at hand. Alice reluctantly stepped back into the cottage and rested a hand on her shoulder, and the reassuring gesture helped ground her thoughts for a moment. “I mean. I mean, it's gotta be, right?”

“I would think so,” Alice said uneasily. “... so you're a ghost, then?”

“I-I guess?” Marisa brushed a hand back through her hair, not taking her eyes off the corpse for a second. The whole thing still felt unreal, like she was rapidly closing in on the point where she'd realize that it was all a dream and wake up safe in bed. In a way, though, it helped. It distanced her from the horribleness, let her shakily assemble thoughts even though she should have been curled up on the ground.

“I'm... I'm sorry.” Alice gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. The gesture seemed hollow, like she was aware that no amount of apologies could ever make this better, but felt like she had to do _something_. “How do you feel...?”

“Well. Uh.” Marisa tried to focus some of her racing thoughts on the question, taking an uneasy self inventory. “I didn't... I hadn't realized that anything was really wrong until now. I felt fine. I mean. I mean, I _died_ and didn't even notice...” She heard Alice start sniffling behind her, and went quiet for a moment before adding, “... it just doesn't feel real yet, you know?”

“R-right, yes, of course,” Alice said, doing her best to keep her voice steady. “I'm sure that this is...” A soft sniff. “I-is a shock for you too.”

“Yeah...” Another sniffle came from behind her, and without much conscious thought, Marisa settled on her next course of action. Everything about this situation was wrong, wrong and confusing, and right now, she really just needed some time to think. Slowly, she rose to her feet, with her back still to Alice. Like she was afraid that her corpse would vanish if she looked away for even a moment. “Hey,” she said quietly. “Don't worry about me too much, okay?“

“M-Marisa, you're _dead_.”

“I know, alright? 's just... worrying isn't gonna do me any good, either.” She took a breath to steady herself. “I think I need to be by myself for a bit. Sorry.”

“You don't have to handle this alone... I can...”

“That's not it, I promise,” Marisa said, and finally managed to turn toward Alice.. “I just... need some time to think.”

Alice still looked reluctant to leave so easily. She took one step back, and her gaze drifted around the scene again. Once it settled on the corpse, it seemed to finally give her the push she needed. "Well, then. I'll... just be off." Despite the words, she remained frozen to the spot. "... but. Marisa, if there's anything you need..."

"Yeah. I'll let you know. Thanks."

Alice nodded, but lingered a few seconds longer. Finally, she turned and headed toward the edge of the clearing, back toward her cottage. Marisa was already facing the other direction, but she could still hear the dollmaker burst into tears as soon as she disappeared into the underbrush.

As soon as she was sure that Alice was out of sight, Marisa slumped back to the floor next to her corpse, with her back resting against the remains of a wall. The emotions were catching up to her now, but with none of the sharpness she was used to. Her sorrow and fear felt as deep as they ever could have, but delicate and subtle, instead of the urgent animal edge they usually packed.

Despite all the horribleness, she still felt a part of herself detached from it all, rationally analyzing the situation from afar. _Emotions are mostly because of chemicals in your blood or something, right?_ it whispered with detached interest. _Maybe since I've got no blood..._ She smiled at the grim joke of an idea, and the sheer absurdity of thinking about something like that at a time like this. Somehow, it helped her feel better about things for a moment, until the idea continued: No blood in her veins, no sweat when she had run back and forth... she was no longer a person, just the abstracted idea of a person, with all the messy biological details smoothed away.

It was an uncomfortable thought. She'd never really _considered_ ghosts before, beyond the best ways to capture phantoms for cooling in the summer. She suddenly wished she'd paid more attention to the times that Yuyuko had visited. What little she could remember was a mix of ghost stories and dry, near-academic text that she'd read in pilfered books. Being dead wasn't something she'd ever really planned for. It had always been a distant, abstract possibility, and now that it was her immediate reality, she found herself lost and uncertain for the first time since she'd left home.

Numbly, Marisa scooted over and leaned over her corpse, then started uncovering it. The first brush of her hands against her body's own cool flesh made her flinch, but she forced herself to work past it, taking a perverse pride in the way she forced herself to treat it like just another object. Bit by bit, she pushed smaller pieces of rubble aside until the body was completely uncovered. With that done, she kept going, brushing off the thick layer of plaster dust and soot that was settled onto her. She was suddenly uncomfortable with it, wanting even her dead and broken form to be _clean_ in its repose. After ten minutes of anxious labor, her body was as clean as it was going to get, and Marisa pulled back to look over it.

Apart from the blood, she looked... peaceful. Little rips through her clothes showed where shrapnel and splinters had pierced her flesh. She wondered how she'd died so quickly. All that blood-soaked hair probably had a pretty big wound under it, but she wasn't about to look for it. It felt... wrong, somehow, to look into it too deeply, so she moved on to phase two of a plan that she hadn't even realized she'd been working on.

It took two hours of packing rubble, but Marisa had the time. Her inhuman body was indefatigable, and soon, she fell into a daze, just dragging twisted lumber and chunks of plaster away from her house and piling them a short distance away. It was tedious work, but exactly the sort of thing she needed to take her mind off of the situation. The wreckage of her living room revealed itself to her slowly, a landslide of books here, a toppled shelf of bric-a-brac there. Finally, she found what she'd been looking for: her trusty treasure-digging shovel. Marisa let the shovel do the deciding for her. She sat it on its tip on the ground, and when it fell over, headed off in that direction without a thought.

It wasn't until she was hundreds of meters into the forest that she stopped, and began to dig.

Marisa knew one other piece of ghost lore, one that every human in Gensokyo knew by heart. The surest way to get rid of a ghost was to give their body a proper burial. In the old days, when youkai had still preyed on the villagers, there had been focused manhunts to bring home the chewed bones of loved ones and lay them to rest. Kind of a big deal. Making sure that everybody got last rites was still taken very seriously, and even a pauper was assured a modest tombstone. If anybody found out what had happened to her, they'd start looking for her corpse. If she got a proper burial, she'd pass on, to Nirvana or reincarnation or whatever came next.

She couldn't let that happen. Not yet, anyway. She had some thinking to do and some stuff to take care of. So, she had to give her corpse a quick burial, something too artless to put her to rest, and hidden well enough that nobody would find it.

Once she judged that the hole was deep enough, Marisa walked back to her cottage, slipped around the rubble into the interior, propped her shovel against the wall, squatted down next to her corpse, and hesitated. Her own glazed eyes staring up at her, the unnatural paleness of her skin... it was the kind of thing that would have made her squeamish, if she still had a stomach. _It's just another thing now,_ she reminded herself, then reached down, slid one hand behind the small of her back, and hefted her body up onto her shoulder.

"Oof. Heavier than I look," Marisa said to nobody in particular as she rose to her feet and steadied herself, then carefully grabbed her shovel. This close, she could smell her own blood above the haze of wood smoke that filled the clearing. It was a good motivation to hurry, even with nearly half a kilometer to travel. After trudging through the forest for what felt like forever, she knelt down and lowered her body into the grave as carefully as she could, laying it on its back, then straightened up and grabbed her shovel.

She couldn't do a proper burial, but... it still felt wrong to just _do_ it. Besides, it wouldn't count if she buried herself anyway, right? Otherwise, you'd hear stories of self-burying ghosts all the time. So she could have whatever kind of one-girl funeral she wanted.

"Um. Here lies Marisa Kirisame," she announced to the forest at large. "... aka Me. Ehe." Marisa chuckled weakly and lowered her head, embarrassed at talking to herself, but feeling strangely reassured by the act. "I mean. I dunno. I never figured that I was gonna be the kinda person to die a zillion years old with lots of kids, anyway. Still kinda sucks. You... deserved better," she mumbled, now talking directly to her corpse. Sadness welled up in her again, threatening to overwhelm the brief respite she'd found, and she forced herself to change gears again. No sense in making this more depressing than it already was. "S-so, uh. Be more careful with explosives in your next reincarnation. Ya fuckin' idiot."

Marisa sighed. Her heart just wasn't in the right place to give a speech full of actual emotion _or_ self-depreciating jokes. Mostly she was just tired and melancholy. Still, she felt a little better for making the effort. It felt like something was missing though. Her body staring up at her from the damp soil at the bottom of the hole... the plan had been to bury herself without a coffin all along, but now that the moment had come, she was faced with the unpleasant realities of it.

It couldn't be avoided at this stage, but at least she could make it a little more proper-feeling. Crouching down, Marisa was just barely able to reach to the bottom of the pit. It took a bit more work than she'd expected to push her body's eyelids closed. Her fingers brushed an eyeball in the process, sending a shiver of revulsion through her, but at least it was done. After straightening back up, she studied her handiwork. Even with the lethal injuries, she looked more peaceful now, like she was just taking a nap. Somehow, it made her feel like everything was going to be okay.

Marisa paused to take one last look at her corpse, trying to memorize the image for eternity. The plaster dust clinging to her, the spots of dried blood peppering her clothes, the mess of golden hair around her head like a bloody halo, even the unnatural positions of her arms and the way her dress laid across her thighs. "Sorry," she said. "You were a pretty good body, I guess. Sorry you're gonna end up full of worms and stuff."

Before she could hesitate further, she jabbed the shovel into her pile of dirt and upended it over her body, dumping clumps of wet soil across the face. There. No reason to turn back now.

She didn't stop until the hole was completely filled. When it was done, she dragged leaves across the top to help it blend in to the rest of the forest, scored a mark on the side of a nearby tree to help her find it again, snatched up her shovel, and set off toward the ruins of her cottage.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time that Marisa got back to her cottage, night was falling. She briefly debated what she should do next, but the answer was clear, really. She hadn't been lying when she talked to Alice. She really did need some time to think things over.

The last few tenacious embers were dying out, and the smoke had finally cleared from the area. Most of the cottage's contents were still buried, but... she'd deal with that later. This time, she entered through the still-intact frame of the front door, then picked her way through the place room by room until she reached her study again.

There was still a person-shaped indent in the mess on the floor, but that was the only hint that it was the scene of a death. If any blood had spilled, the traces had been lost in the rubble. Off in the corner, rumpled black cloth peeked past a chunk of plaster, and Marisa fished it out. As expected, it was her hat, looking worse for the wear: scorch marks along the brim where it had faced the explosion, a few holes burnt through it, and dirt and plaster powder ground into it.

Thoughtfully, Marisa pulled the hat she was already wearing off of her head, tossed it aside, and put the real article on. It fit just as well as it had in life. The ghostly hat came to rest on top of a pile of wreckage, looking as pristine and perfect as a tailor's model. She liked the real thing, holes and all, more. All this supernatural cleanliness didn't become a witch.

Just having some dirt on her again made her feel a bit better. Marisa slumped to the floor and, sitting in the outline of her corpse, leaned back against the wall. The stars were starting to come out, but though she felt emotionally exhausted, she didn't feel _sleepy_. Did ghosts even sleep? She supposed that she would find out.

Now that she'd had time to get her grips and take care of the immediate concerns, her emotions could flow a bit more naturally. Despite the reassuring ritual of the burial, she could still feel her despair and fear right there, threatening to come sneaking back in if she let it. Frickin' _dead_. Even after personally lowering her corpse into a makeshift grave, it still didn't seem real. She felt like she needed the catharsis that only a good cry could bring, but... no tears either, it seemed, just swirling melancholy.

Even her emotions felt dead. It was a combination of frustrating and relieving. Sobbing all night wasn't going to get her anywhere, but if there was ever a proper occasion for crying, this was it.

She tried to turn her thoughts back toward something more productive instead. There was one thing that had been bothering her all night. She'd remembered one more thing about ghosts: they popped up if you died and you were filled with negative emotions, or had unfinished business, or just didn't realize that you were dead. She hadn't realized she was dead at first, but she did now. She liked to think she wasn't filled with negative emotions. Not many, anyway. At least, not the _really_ bad ones. That left unfinished business...

Almost instantly, the fireworks came to mind. They hadn't just been any old fireworks. They'd been very special ones, for a very special purpose. She'd been wrapped up in making them for days. They were supposed to be the crowning achievement of her lifetime of experimenting with Things That Go Boom.

They were supposed to be so beautiful that, when she asked Reimu out beneath them, she wouldn't even hesitate before saying yes. It was gonna be perfect. _Perfect_ , dammit.

Okay, so maybe it was more about Reimu than the fireworks, but still. It left her with an uneasy dilemma. What would even happen if she went through with it? Her lack of knowledge on ghosts was starting to be a bit of a drawback.

She was going to have to go to Hakugyokurou, she was realizing. If anybody could help her sort out what in the heck was going on and what to do next, it would be Yuyuko. After that, she really did need to talk to Reimu before she did anything else. She could feel a strange, aching need to see her, and maybe it'd help her sort out some of her feelings.

So. That was enough to keep her busy for a while. It wasn't a _good_ plan, but it was a plan. It set her mind at ease, if nothing else.

At the moment, though, it could wait, she supposed. For now, she dropped her hat into her lap, rested her head back against the wall, and looked up into the sky. She still had a lot of thinking to do. There was no need to rush into anything.

Marisa Kirisame spent the night with her first friends, the stars, and for the first time since her death, felt something almost like peace.

* * *

Dawn broke across Gensokyo, slow and gentle, and Marisa was still awake to see it. Long nights of research, youkai-hunting, and exploration mean that she was used to seeing dawn, even if it was usually on the wrong side of bedtime, but this one still felt special. This would be the first full day where she wasn't alive, or something. Maybe she was just glad that she hadn't faded away under the first rays of morning light, like some kind of vengeful spirit out of a bad ghost story.

Whatever the case, it seemed like she couldn't sleep. Or it was pretty hard to pull off if she could, but at least she didn't feel any worse for staying up all night. It made sense, now that she thought about it. If ghosts needed to sleep, you wouldn't get many ghost stories. Instead of stalking people through dark alleys at night, all the ghosts would just be taking naps or something.

Even with everything that was on her mind, the night was pretty long when you had nothing to do but sit and think. It had left her antsy to get a move on, but she decided that she should probably take care of some stuff first. The first order of business was finding her broom and mini-hakkero. The mini-hakkero had been on her desk when she'd died, so it only took a few minutes for her to dig it out. The familiar weight in her hand was reassuring, and even more so when she raised it into the air and conjured a weak flame from the tip. At least that still worked, although some of the energy flowing through her felt a bit different. Maybe becoming a ghost screwed with your magic aptitudes. She'd have to fool around with it later. It could lead to some new spell card ideas or something, assuming she ever needed to use them again.

Her broom was even easier. She usually kept it propped against the wall by the front door, and it was already sticking out from beneath a section of roof when she went looking for it. The collapse had smashed it, though, snapping the handle off mere centimeters from the brush. It was far from the first time she'd broken a broom—one of the many side effects of occasionally using them as melee weapons. Normally, she'd just run into the village and buy a new one, but... it didn't feel like her top priority right now.

_Maybe it means that last broom ride I took was my last one ever, huh?_ It was a sobering thought, but she'd never get anything done if she let stuff like that slow her down. Even so, it left her feeling a little naked when she levitated into the air, then took off flying upward. _Straight_ up, as fast as she could. The hot summertime air of the ground faded away, quickly made more bearable by the wind at higher altitudes. Within seconds, she could see every corner of Gensokyo that wasn't hidden behind Youkai Mountain, and she just kept flying upward.

Soon enough, the lowest wisps of clouds started streaming past, cooler than the surrounding air. It felt good after suffering through the heat below, until she pierced into the heart of one, a bit chillier than she preferred. The world disappeared into thick fog for a few seconds, then she rose above it... and above her, glowing dimly in the summer sky, was the gate to the Netherworld.

It was a trip that Marisa had only made a few times, and the first time, she'd had a trail of cherry blossoms to guide her. The big glowing portal made it hard to miss, though. As she approached, she could feel the air grow... less noticeable. Not hotter or colder, but like the very idea of temperature was no longer relevant to it. By the time that the Netherworld started fading into sight around her, it was stagnant and carrying the pervasive scent of cherry blossoms.

The fog grew thicker as she passed threw the gate, and when it cleared, she found herself in front of an endless-seeming series of gray steps, rising upward through the mist. Her feet settled onto a pathway of rough stone leading up to them... and only once she started getting her bearings did Marisa realize that at some point during the journey, her clothing had changed.

The familiar black dress and apron were gone. Replacing them were a stark white burial kimono and a pair of geta. A quick pat of her head reassured her that her well-cooked witch's hat was still there, and the mini-hakkero was still hanging by her side... but this was going to take some getting used to. She shifted her weight side to side a few times and looked around, half-expecting to find her outfit laying on the ground.

But, it was nowhere to be seen. Ah well. Normally, she'd be a bit annoyed at something like that, and probably on alert in case it was some kind of weird youkai trick, but being dead was teaching her a lot about taking things in stride. _What's the worst that could happen? They kill me? … heh._ The joke fell flat in her own mind, but she noted it for future use.

Nothing to do now but get to it, she supposed. The stairs seemed endless, but Marisa didn't feel the need the fly up them. It was the first time she'd ever walked them, and it was a strangely meditative feeling. One foot in front of the other, with the identical steps and thick mist leaving her nothing to do but reflect on her own thoughts.

By the time she reached the top, Marisa couldn't even guess how long it had been. A few minutes? An hour? A day? A lantern-flanked path led across a featureless plain of white gravel, up to the expansive front of Hakugyokurou. Beyond it, she could see the mansion's gardens, with cherry trees stretching toward the horizon as far as she could see. Normally, she'd make a beeline for there, but today, she was here on business, not for one of the mansion's famous parties.

As she approached, the front door slid open. Youmu stepped out, then paused, looking over her. The gardener blinked in confusion a few times, then adopted a businesslike demeanor. “Oh, it's just you. Lady Yuyuko has been expecting you, but you're early.” She stepped aside and gestured toward the open door. “Come in.”

* * *

The interior of Hakugyokurou was expansive, but tasteful, with only the lightest of decorations to lend it an air of restrained elegance. Youmu led Marisa through labyrinthine halls, some wider than her cottage had been, until arriving at an otherwise-unremarkable door. “Wait here.”

“'kay. Could I get some snacks or somethin'? That staircase is killer.” Not that she was hungry, but having sampled the mansion's sweets before, Marisa wasn't going to pass up a chance at them.

“I'm the gardener, not a maid,” Youmu said with a sigh. “... but I'll see what I can do.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Marisa stepped into the room and knelt down at the table. Like the rest of the mansion, the decorations were light: A sprig of artfully-arranged flowers in a vase and a wall scroll whose calligraphy had probably taken a lifetime to master. The door on the far side of the room looked like it should open out behind the building, though, and Marisa crawled over to push it open.

Sure enough, on the other side of the door, the mansion's massive rock garden was visible, a field of white jade pebbles carefully maintained to look like rippling water, with only the occasional larger rock or small plant sticking up. She'd never really gotten the appeal—seemed like a lot of work for what was basically a fancy heap of gravel—but it was more interesting than staring at the walls while she waited.

Not that she was waiting long. Before she'd even thought to crawl back to the table, the door opened behind her and she heard Yuyuko's familiar voice. “Oh? Trying to escape already?”

“Ehe. Nah, I just wanted to look at the rocks. You ought to get some more decorations in here, maybe some plants and stuff. You know, kinda liven up the place... uh, pun not intended.” Marisa scooted away from the door, leaving it opened, and settled down at the table, while Yuyuko did the same on the other side.

“Hmm... I'll keep that in mind,” Yuyuko said, in a slightly-confused, thoughtful tone that left Marisa entirely uncertain whether the ghost princess was being sarcastic or agreeing with her. She settled in across from Marisa, hands folded in her lap. Like everything else, even the simple act of sitting looked elegant and beautiful when Yuyuko did it, and Marisa suddenly felt about ten times plainer by comparison. “It's nice of you to visit us, though! I hadn't expected you this soon.”

“Yeah, Youmu said that you'd thought I was comin'... uh, why? Am I supposed to be doing something?”

“Hmm? Oh, no. I had just expected that you would drop by sooner or later,” Yuyuko said with a smile. Silently, Youmu entered with a carefully-balanced tray and started serving tea. Yuyuko acknowledged it with a grateful nod of her head, but otherwise didn't let it interrupt her. She took a moment to inspect Marisa, then smiled. “You seem to be adjusting quickly.”

“I guess.” Marisa looked down at herself thoughtfully. “Uh, what's with the clothes?”

“Hmm?”

“My clothes, I mean. They changed into... this. A while ago.”

“Ahh.” Yuyuko looked over Marisa, then nodded to herself. “Well, it looks very ghostly, don't you think? Call them a side effect of coming here. You've truly realized that you're dead, so your spirit no longer needs to look like you're still alive. Isn't it convenient?”

“Not sure if I'd call somethin' like that convenient...” Marisa watched as Youmu sat down, then lowered a plate of daifuku to the table between them. It took a little self-restraint to not immediately grab one. “I've got some stuff to take care of, and it's gonna be a bit harder looking like this.”

“I'm sure you'll figure it out,” Yuyuko said cheerfully. She didn't show nearly as much restraint as Marisa with the food, grabbing one of the daifuku and taking a big bite out of it. She froze as soon as the flavor hit her tongue, cupping one cheek and cooing with delight. “Thank you, Youmu. These are very nice. … ahem. Pretty soon, the rest of your soul will leave your body anyway. That will be harder for people to ignore, won't it?”

“Eh? My soul?”

“Hmm?” Yuyuko looked at Marisa quizzically, then brightened up. “Oh! Yes. See?” She held her hand out and teased one of the many phantoms orbiting her closer, cupping it in front of herself. “Humans notice this kind of thing, don't they?”

“Oh...” Marisa watched the squirming phantom in Yuyuko's hands. She'd never thought about it before, but they always _did_ show ghosts with those things floating around 'em, didn't they? Darn. “So that's gonna happen to me?”

“Mmhm. Some parts of the soul remain in the body after the death. In a day or two, they'll rejoin you,” Yuyuko said with a nod.

“I guess I'll think of something, yeah. I might need a lot of stuff from the village, so that could be a pain...”

“Hmm? Need? For what?”

“Well, I'm still thinkin' about it. I think that what I'm... stuck around for is, uh.” Well, damn. There was no way she was going to get through this without being honest about her feelings, was there? “... I'd kinda... been planning to ask somebody out at the end of Bon. I put on the fireworks show in the human village, and I was gonna make it extra flashy this year...”

“And do you still plan to?”

“I dunno. If I'm right and I do it, won't that make me pass on, or whatever?”

“Most likely.” Yuyuko paused to take a sip of her tea, washing down the daifuku, before continuing. “Once you fulfill your reason for staying, your soul will be taken to the Ministry of Right and Wrong for judgment... I've heard that the yama has a case file on you as tall as she is! It should be an interesting trial.”

“Yeah, great,” Marisa mumbled. Great, now she was going to be dreading _that_ for a week. As if dying wasn't bad enough by itself. She snagged one of the daifuku for herself and took a thoughtful chomp—a normal red bean filling, but with a hint of cherry somewhere in there to add just the right amount of subtle complexity to the sweetness. It was the kind of thing that Reimu would appreciate more than she would, though. She made a mental note to snag a few when she left. “I guess I'll think about it. Um, either way, I'm going to need somewhere to stay, and my house... _kinda_ burned down. Do you mind if I crash here until I'm gone? You've got a lot of rooms, right?”

“Hmm, well. The grounds of Hakugyokurou are supposed to be for ghosts who have already been judged, I'm afraid. Letting you stay here would be a breach of protocol.”

“Oh. Well, okay. Sorry to tr—”

“Even if you asked me to stay in the gardening shed out back. The one that nobody ever enters.”

Marisa had already been rising to leave, but now paused, looking at the ghost princess uncertainly. “Uh. Okay?”

“In fact, Youmu,” Yuyuko continued. “Please make sure that the shed is locked when you make your grounds today, in case we have any intruders. Make sure that you hide the key beneath the front step when you're done.”

Marisa was slowly starting to suspect what Yuyuko was getting at, but the expression on Youmu's face sealed it.”Of course, Lady Yuyuko,” the gardener said, her voice full of tired resignation.


	4. Chapter 4

The shed wasn't half-bad, Marisa had to say. A handful of gardening tools had lined one wall, but after moving them to the back, she was left with a space that wasn't much smaller than her workshop had been. 

It left just one more thing to take care of before she visited Reimu. Ever since her clothing had changed, she'd felt something strange in her stomach, and she was starting to suspect just what it was. It was easy enough for her to sneak back into the main mansion and, among the many rooms, find one with a mirror. After making sure that nobody was likely to walk in on her, she stood in front of it and, nervously, slid out of her kimono.

It was seconds before the first rip in her skin came into view, right below her left breast. It was a small, horizontal gash, and it made the new supernatural nature of her being obvious. There was no blood flowing from the dull red hole, and it didn't hurt when she put her finger in, up to the first knuckle. Hadn't the one on her corpse been deeper? She couldn't remember.

One by one, her injuries came into view as she undressed. Another, slightly deeper, rent across the front of her stomach. A series of them pockmarking her thigh on the side that had faced the explosion. A jagged one up the length of her forearm on the same side.

And, lifting her hat, she fearfully reached around the side of her head, until her fingers brushed against the wound there. Like all the others, it was a bloodless, clean hole, divorced utterly from the biology it was based on. Looking at it in the mirror, her hat hid it pretty well, and even if not, it was only barely visible unless you were looking for it or she pulled her hair back. It was still unsettling to know that, etched into her skin, she was carrying around a record of the same injuries that had killed her.

Marisa stayed there, uneasily tracing the outlines of her wounds with her fingertip, for almost an hour. It wasn't until she'd cataloged every single one that she was able to turn away from the mirror. Feeling a bit less confident, she pulled her clothes back on and set off for the Hakurei shrine.

* * *

By the time that Marisa re-emerged into Gensokyo, it was late in the morning. From the air, she could see that the front door to the shrine was open. It wasn't much of a surprise, really. Donations always did go up a little around Bon, even though the shrine didn't do anything to mark the occasion. It was still a welcome finding, since Reimu slept late sometimes and she hadn't been looking forward to waking her up. She still flew a slow circle around it from the air, giving herself a moment to gather her thoughts, before she spiraled lazily down and landed on the front steps.

“O-oi, Reimu!” she shouted in the door, then poked her head in without waiting for an answer. Her nose was instantly hit with the welcome smell of frying fish, and she found Reimu standing in the cooking area on the other side of the main room. That was a surprise. Awake _and_ cooking at this hour. Reimu must have been feeling motivated today. Marisa made her way through the door and pushed it shut behind her. “... Kinda a strange choice for breakfast, don't you think?”

“I got up early and went fishing while it was still cool,” Reimu said, characteristically cheerful for a situation where she had actual food on hand. “I caught a few perch.” She trailed off and glanced suspiciously back toward Marisa. “... you came here just because you figured out that I had food, didn't you?”

“Huh? Y-yeah, of course!” Marisa let out a forced laugh, while Reimu gave her a rather puzzled look. It took a moment to realize that Reimu's concern didn't seem to be over the anxious tone in her voice. “Something wrong?”

“What's with the weird outfit?”

“Oh! Uh.” In her earlier focus on her wounds, she'd entirely forgotten about the changes to her clothes. Marisa pulled the hat off of her head and fussed over it, pulling the top out to a sharp point again and brushing off a little of the ash. “I had an accident last night. It was—“ The words caught in her throat. She could just come out and say it now, but... but it felt nice, just having a normal conversation about nothing with Reimu. “I-it was nothing! Hehe. Pretty lucky, huh? It ruined my normal clothes, so I borrowed a cheap kimono from Kourin for now.”

Reimu still looked a bit bewildered, but apparently she was used to this sort of thing. “Well, it's good that you didn't get hurt, I guess. I'll give you _one_ piece of fish, okay? I need to make the rest last for a few days.”

“Yeah... I guess I can handle that.”

* * *

Marisa had to hand it to Reimu: On the occasions when she had enough food that she didn't need to skimp on ingredients, she was a pretty good cook. She paid attention to things like flavor and texture, whereas for Marisa, cooking had always been more about keeping her body running long enough for another night of adventures. She rarely thought about it beyond throwing a bunch of edible things together with heat and eating whatever came out.

Not that she couldn't appreciate good food when it was presented to her, and the perch was good. Really... really good.

After the jarring surreality of last night, this felt refreshingly real. If she didn't have vivid memories of the feeling of her own dead flesh in her hands, she could almost convince herself that it had been a dream. It just felt _right_ , sitting across from Reimu while her friend chattered away about the latest annoying youkai antics she'd suffered through.

But, try as she might, she couldn't convince herself that last night hadn't happened. Ever since she'd realized that she was... _kind_ of falling in love with her best friend, she'd felt different around her, and now, it was magnified tenfold. Her desire to be with Reimu was now a _need_ , a drive that was now much more central to her existence than water or sleep would ever be again. She needed Reimu the way a starving man needed food.

Any doubt that she'd had over her purpose was gone. This was why she was here. She could feel it in every fiber of her being. Compared to the diluted state of her other emotions, it was an intense, jagged urge buried in her heart. She felt like she could just leap against Reimu, bash her soul to pieces against the other girl, and still die with a smile on her face.

It was a bit frightening, and yet the most natural-feeling thing in the universe.

“Are you even listening?”

“Oh. Huh?” Marisa snapped out of her reverie and realized that she'd been staring at Reimu. Pretty intensely, even. “O-oh, uh!” She forced herself to look away and brushed a hand back through her hair, laughing. “Sorry. I guess I was just outta it.”

“... yeah, I noticed. You've barely even touched your fish.”

“Oh! Yeah. Better not let it get cold, huh?” To prove her point, Marisa inelegantly speared a rather large bite with her chopsticks, then stuffed it in her mouth. “It's pretty good.”

Reimu smiled at the compliment, but it didn't last long. Her expression slowly fell as she watched Marisa hurry to clear her plate. “... you're acting weirder than usual. Is something wrong?”

The question made Marisa freeze, and she nearly coughed up a mouthful of fish in surprise. She quickly swallowed it, then gulped down half of her tea as her mind scrambled for an answer. “W-well, there was the explosion and all...”

“Yeah, you said...” Reimu replied, not sounding convinced. Her eyes turned toward the doorway thoughtfully. “I could see the smoke from here. Was it pretty bad?”

“... well. Uh.” That was a harder question to sidestep with a lie of omission, but... she was starting to realize that she couldn't exactly hide her death for long. It wasn't going to get her anywhere, and she _needed_ to talk about it with somebody.“... pretty bad, actually,” she admitted. It felt like the first thing she'd said so far that wasn't a fib. “My house got blown to pieces.”

“Oh. Wow.” Reimu sat up a little now, blinking in surprise and lowering her cup to the table. “I don't have a lot of room right now, but I could break out an extra futon if you need somewhere to stay. … you're providing your own food, though. Today was a fluke.”

“Ehe. About that...” Marisa stared at the tabletop for a second, trying to figure out how to put the words together. It was the hardest sentence she'd ever had to force past her lips. “Um. Well. Reimu, I'm dead.”

Reimu gave her a blank stare across the table for a moment, then sighed and resumed eating. “Dead.” 

“Yeah, uh. From the explosion. I was in pretty bad shape. My corpse was, I mean.”

Reimu shook her head in mild annoyance, not even bothering to put down her chopsticks. “You know,” she said after a few seconds, then paused to skillfully break off a bit of fish and pop it into her mouth. “If you're trying to do a joke like that, you should put more effort into it. A white kimono isn't enough these days. Maybe paint your face white or something.”

“No, I'm serious! I'm a ghost. I, uh...” Marisa weighed her options, but she could only think of one good piece of evidence on her side. Slowly, she reached up and pulled her hat off, settling it into her lap, then turned her head and brushed her hair aside to reveal the wound. “I'm pretty sure that this one killed me,” she said, feeling half-disgusted at herself. She wished she could somehow hide the marks from Reimu forever. Releasing her hair, she lifted one sleeve, showing off the gouge up her arm. “This whole side got off pretty bad. Facing the explosion. Ehe.”

Reimu's chewing slowed to a halt, and she studied Marisa's face for a few seconds before shakily lowering her chopsticks to lay them across the edge of her plate. “... you're telling the truth, aren't you?”

“... yeah. Trust me, I kinda wish I wasn't.” Marisa stayed in place as Reimu squeamishly reached over the table toward her. Her fingers brushed over the jagged mark on her arm, then she flinched backward, with the color draining from her face. Self-consciously, Marisa slid her sleeve back down. “It was last night.”

But Reimu didn't seem to be listening. “I didn't think you'd ever...” Her voice trembled, even as she tried to remain calm. It was weird. Marisa had never seen this kind of reaction out of Reimu. Even during battles, her usual response to stress was steely resolve. Reimu took a deep breath to steady herself a little, sighed it out, and said, “So you really are dead, then.”

“Yeah...”

“If this is still some kind of prank, I'm going to hate you forever, you know...” Reimu tried passing the comment off as a joke, but her voice was sounding increasingly distant and dazed. She slumped forward, resting one elbow on the table and propping her forehead up with that hand. Her eyes were squeezed closed, and Marisa could tell that she was struggling not to cry. “Why are you here?” she said, with her voice barely above a whisper.

Marisa watched the girl across from her like a ticking bomb. Making Reimu cry had never been in the plan, and now, she didn't know what to do. She and Reimu had never been very open with their feelings. Reimu had been orphaned at a young age; she'd been disowned not much later. Both of them were used to depending only on themselves. Supporting each other emotionally had never really gone past listening to each other's occasional rants and being drinking buddies.

But... Marisa had wanted to get closer to her anyway, right?

Slowly, she slid around the table. Settling into place behind her friend, Marisa wrapped her arms around Reimu's waist and pulled her back, close. She could feel Reimu tense up at first, then uneasily settle into it. “Hey, look, it's okay, see? I ain't going anywhere yet.”

“Y-you'd better not.” Reimu barely managed to choke the sentence out before she started bawling. She didn't stop for a long, long time.

* * *

Having Reimu in her arms like this, close enough for her to feel her warmth through their clothes... it was like a dream.

And Marisa was slowly realizing that, like a dream, it couldn't last.

What else could she do? She had to confess to Reimu. Even if... even if she disappeared as soon as she did it, even if they never got another minute together. She had to. She couldn't spend the rest of eternity like this, aching for Reimu and apart from her. There was no way she could keep pretending that her fondness for her was purely platonic, not for much longer. Part of her wanted to blurt it out here and now, but... no. If there was a chance that she was going to disappear afterward, she wanted to make sure that Reimu would remember her forever.

As slowly and implacably as glaciers, plans were starting to come together in her head. Marisa had never been one for moping around when she could be taking action, and she'd be damned if she did it now. She needed to finish the fireworks, but if there was a chance that she'd disappear afterward, there were other things to take care of too. She had a lot of people to say goodbye to. A few last long afternoons spent drinking tea on the shrine's steps maybe. Things to get in order. It was a lot to take care of in a week, but she didn't need to sleep anymore. If she focused, she just might make it.

Realizing that Reimu was starting to weep more quietly now, Marisa tentatively relaxed her grip on her. “Hey, Reimu, y'know... _I'm_ the one who's dead and all, so save some cryin' for me.”

“S-shut up...” Despite herself, Reimu laughed weakly, then reached up to wipe some tears from her eyes. “Idiot.”

“Heh.” 

Reimu went silent again, but occasionally dabbed at her eyes, calming herself down bit by bit. “You never did answer my question...” she finally said, when a few minutes had passed.

“Huh?”

“About why you're here.”

“Oh. Uh. Well, I thought I should probably let you know, for one thing. About me dyin', I mean. … jeez, that sounds weird.” Reluctantly, she loosened her hold on Reimu, then scooted backward to make it a bit easier to converse. “... I dunno. Just talking to you has helped me sort a lot out. Dying is pretty confusing, but I think I've got it all figured out now.”

“Do you.” Reimu slowly turned to face Marisa, and she looked up only hesitantly. It was like she was looking at Marisa for the first time again, or like just seeing her was uncomfortable. It... hurt. Reimu was hiding it well, but Marisa could easily see that this was a wound that was going to take a while to heal.

“Yeah. What I'm gonna do... I, uh. I know why I'm here. As a ghost, I mean. There's something I've gotta do before I can move on or whatever.”

“Huh?” Reimu perked up a bit, and even with her eyes still red and swollen, Marisa could see that her mood had instantly improved. “Couldn't you just not do it, then? Ghosts can stick around for a long time, right...?”

Marisa had to consider her response. It was one thing to make the decision to pass on... but actually saying it out loud would make it official. She couldn't really take it back if she did that. Nothing to do but get it over with, she guessed. “I... don't think so, no. I mean, I _could_ , but.” She trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck and glancing out the open door as she tried to decide how to put it. Outside, the summer sun was going at full blast, even though it wasn't even midday yet. Soon enough, it would be almost too hot to move. It felt like the wrong atmosphere for talking about things like this. Long summer days were supposed to be for gossiping and naps, dammit. “The thing I've gotta do... it's really important. Like, _really_. I think I've got about five or six days, though. It'll be on the last day of Bon. Won't even stop the fireworks show.”

“Five or six days,” Reimu mumbled after her. Marisa could see the confidence leak out of her again, and for a moment, thought she might cry again. “And you're sure you have to do it?”

“Yeah...”

“What is it?”

“It's... I can't say. If I said it, I might poof right then.”

Reimu did not look convinced. “Well... okay.” She sighed again and settled down, and Marisa felt a pang of regret. Maybe it would have been better to just hide it until the end, trying to keep their relationship as normal as possible. “Is there anything you need...?”

“Well...” Marisa looked out the door again and thought about that. “I already kinda, uh, buried myself, but maybe something a bit nicer would be good, once I'm gone. I don't wanna risk it before then. I don't wanna be in the family plot, though, 'cuz screw my family. Stick me in that creepy graveyard by the temple, maybe.” Her voice started quivering, and she paused for a moment, wetting her lips and gathering her thoughts. Making her own burial plans felt weird. “... and I wanna have a big party to say bye to everybody. I guess the last night of Bon or something. There are lots of parties then anyway.”

Reimu sighed again, but there was a tired smile on her face now. “Leave it to you to think of parties right after you die...”

“Heh. Oh, um.” Marisa's eyes drifted back toward Reimu, then sank down to the floor, as a blush slowly grew on her cheeks. Reimu's proximity was making it hard to think of much else. It was pushing her thoughts toward uncharacteristically... _open_ directions. “I think tomorrow, I'm gonna start visiting people. I wanna see them all one last time at least. I guess I should think about giving away some of my junk. If you want, you could... come along? I'm not gonna have much time to hang out, but if I'm going to disappear, we ought to spend some time together, you know?”

Reimu winced at the word 'disappear,' and stared at the floor in deep thought. “I think I'd like that,” she finally mumbled, after long contemplation.


	5. Chapter 5

When Marisa finally flew back to Hakugyokurou, late in the evening, she was driven by anxious energy. She and Reimu had talked for hours, and she'd told Reimu about every detail of her death that she could remember. Everything except for the spot where she'd buried her body—that bit, she wouldn't reveal until she needed to. All through the conversation, she'd kept up an argument with herself in the back of her mind.

On one level, it was horrifying, realizing that she'd resigned herself to oblivion if that was what it took to tell Reimu how she really felt. It still felt inevitable, and on some level, desirable. The craving to be with Reimu hadn't subsided through hours of conversation, and just leaving the shrine at the end of the day had left her melancholy.

So, upon arriving back in the Netherworld, Marisa immediately sneaked back into the mansion and pilfered an inkstone, brush, and a few sheets of paper. Back in the shed, she pushed a few crates together to use for a desk, then started writing a list of everything she needed to do if she was going to go through with it.

It wasn't a long list. She needed to finish digging out the contents of her cottage. She needed to give away some of her stuff. She should say goodbye to a few friends. Most importantly, she needed to go shopping somehow and build the fireworks. The list didn't even fill up a full sheet of paper. It was a bit uncomfortable seeing it put like that, practically every activity she'd ever do again neatly laid out in front of her, but doing nothing wasn't going to get her very far, either.

Time to get to work.

* * *

The first order of business was getting the rest of her stuff back. Even if she passed on tomorrow, she didn't want to leave it sitting out in the weather, and knowing the Forest of Magic, it would be a miracle if the half-collapsed cottage lasted more than a few days without drawing in some inquisitive fairies.

By the time Marisa descended to the ground, night had well and truly fallen, but the moonlight was bright enough to see easily. _Do I even need it? I bet I could see at night anyway. Otherwise you'd have ghosts stumbling around in the dark bangin' their ankles on stuff when they tried haunting people._ It made enough sense for the moment, but Marisa was beginning to realize that traditional ghost stories attributed an awful lot of weird traits to ghosts. Maybe she'd run some experiments later if she got bored.

Even with everything that she and Alice had uncovered during the previous day's labor, the cottage's contents were still mostly buried beneath its fallen roof and a few crumbled inner walls. The secondary collapse had at least left most of it in manageably-sized chunks, and if not... well, she had the mini-hakkero now. Anything that wasn't rubble yet could be made into rubble on a whim.

This time, Marisa was rather calmer as she dug through the remains of her cottage. She sorted the ruins into a few piles by type: Some of the boards and timber still looked useful, if somebody was inclined to use them, so she piled them together, with the chunks of plaster and pieces of glass in a different one, and several more piles for her belongings that she needed to move out of her way.

It was tedious work, so by the time that something rustled in the brush behind her, she was deep enough in a daze that she didn't even notice it. It wasn't until a soft voice said, “Marisa...” that she paused and looked back over her shoulder.

“Oh. Hey, Alice...”

“I know you haven't been here this whole time. I've checked a few times,” Alice said, stepping into the clearing. A dozen well-armed dolls stepped out behind her—the sight didn't particularly worry Marisa, since anybody who was still alive would be reckless to _not_ be heavily-armed when traveling the Forest of Magic at night. If there was one word that Marisa would never use to describe Alice Margatroid, it was 'reckless.' “Er. How are you doing?”

“... dead, mostly. Um. It's not so bad when you get used to it, I guess.”

Alice kept walking until the two were close enough for comfortable conversation. Up close, she looked very tired. Most of her dolls sat their weapons down and moved together to heft a piece of roof from the cottage, while she reluctantly inspected Marisa. “Don't you think that outfit is a little stereotypical?”

“Heh. Yeah. I didn't pick it, though. Think I should file a complaint?”

“I would. Being dead is no excuse for dressing so plainly,” Alice said, but her heart obviously wasn't in the joke. She turned to look out over the cottage as her dolls worked. To Marisa's eye, it looked like they were even sticking to the sorting system she'd worked out. “... how do you feel?”

“... I dunno. I mean, I was pretty messed-up at first. I think I've got stuff sorted out, though.” Marisa interlaced her fingers behind her head as she talked, and looked up at the stars. Hadn't she seen in a book where some people thought souls became stars after you died? That seemed like a pretty cool way to go, she thought. Maybe she'd ask about it when she saw the yama. “... I don't think I'm gonna be around for long, though. I've got something to take care of, and once that's over with, I'm gone. Me and Reimu are making plans for a big party before then, though, so I can say bye to everybody.”

“Mmh.” Alice stayed quiet for a minute or two, as the dolls carefully maneuvered a shattered chair out from under the plank that was pinning it. Marisa couldn't tell if she was thoughtful, or just concentrating on the excavation. “I suppose there's no talking you out of it?”

“Heh. Reimu said the same thing. Nah, I've pretty much made up my mind.”

Alice nodded, so subtly that Marisa almost missed it. “I won't even try, then. I never did make any headway arguing with you.”

“Aw, come on, I'm not that stubborn.”

Alice didn't seem to have a retort to that, and two stood in silence as they watched the dolls work With most of the roof slowly disappearing from the top of the cottage, it was starting to look almost inhabitable. Most of the load-bearing supports were still standing, at least. Marisa considered the possibility of just throwing a tarp over it to keep her things dry until she could parcel them out. Other than the sounds of dolls shifting rubble and the cottage groaning as it resettled, the silence was unbroken for nearly ten minutes, until Alice quietly said, “I'll admit, it's going to be a lot less interesting around here without you.”

Marisa winced. It was a perspective she'd barely considered. She'd been so wrapped up in thinking about what was going to happen to herself that she hadn't even considered the aftermath for anybody who wasn't Reimu. As much as Alice complained about it, she knew that she was practically her only visitor. Once she was gone, nobody would crash at Alice's cottage at midday to demand tea and snacks, nobody would sneak into the Scarlet Devil Mansion to poke around, nobody would watch over these adventurous fairies to make sure they didn't get in over their heads... she was going to leave a lot of Marisa Kirisame-shaped holes behind, and somehow, that was almost more painful than her own death.

It made a new wave of sadness surge into her heart. If she were still alive, she'd probably be crying now... and Alice, she could see in the moonlight, had already started, even if she was doing a good job of hiding it. “Yeah, you're probably gonna get a lot more work done, huh?” Marisa joked weakly. Her eyes searched over the rubble, trying to find something that might lighten the situation a little... and then she spotted it. “Hey, hold on. I've got a present for ya.”

“Huh...?”

It was unexpected enough to make Alice look up in confusion, and she watched as Marisa walked over to one of the piles of books that she'd fished out of the wreckage. It didn't take long for Marisa to find what she was looking for. It was the very first book she'd gone searching for, the one she'd wanted to secure before anything else. It had gotten a rip on the cover during the collapse, but no worse. She looked over it reluctantly as she carried it back, and only barely resisted the urge to open it then and there and read every page one last time. The thought of giving it away wasn't helping her mood at all, but...

As soon as Marisa was close enough, she offered it over with a weak smile. “Here. It's all yours now.”

“Marisa, this...” Alice grabbed it slowly enough that Marisa could see that her hands were shaking, then almost reverently pulled the cover open. “This is your grimoire, isn't it?”

“Ehe. Yeah. It's not going to do me much good where I'm going, y'know?” Marisa leaned over and read the thing upside down along with Alice. “See, it's got pretty much every spell card I've ever seen. I've got some ideas for new cards in there, too. I was gonna keep going until I was the best at danmaku in all of Gensokyo, but...” She leaned away, then pulled her battered hat from her head. With one last lingering look to it, she reached over and lowered it onto Alice's head. “You're gonna be the only magician in the Forest of Magic now. You'll probably need all the extra cards just to keep the damn fairies in line.”

“I'm... sure it will be helpful,” Alice said, her voice quivering as she tried to stay calm. Carefully, she tucked the book under one arm, then stepped forward, giving Marisa a tight one-armed hug. As she pressed her face against the ghost's messy hair, Marisa could just barely hear her murmur, “Thank you, Marisa.”

* * *

It took almost until dawn to finish clearing out the cottage, but Alice didn't complain once, even though she was doing most of the work. Marisa pitched in where she could, but one pair of hands could only do so much. By the time the first light was peeking over the horizon, though, it was mostly clean, with the broken remains piled neatly around it.

After Alice said her reluctant goodbyes and tiredly trudged off toward home, Marisa stepped into her cottage again, through the front door this time. It was strange, seeing it from this angle. With most of the rubble gone, it almost looked normal, but the missing roof, the broken walls, and the belongings scattered across the floor conspired to give it an alien feeling. She made her way through it room by room, taking one last walk through the mostly-furnished place, before resolving to sort through her things.

She'd already subconsciously made up her mind about the fate of most of her belongings, and placed them into a dozen piles in the main room. Most of them, she piled together depending on who she planned to gift them to. A relatively small pile marked out the things she'd be keeping for now: the few tools she used for fireworks-making that hadn't been ruined in the explosion, a bit of untouched alchemical equipment, a sack of potash she could process into violet coloring for the projectiles, a small cask of harmless-looking powder that would give her red, and...

And in the mostly-untouched contents of her closet, a single red ribbon. It was one of Reimu's, she knew instantly. She could dimly remember carrying it home one day. It hadn't really been something she _planned_ , but she'd been pretty drunk, and it had been just laying on a shelf in the shrine... grabbing it had seemed like a good idea at the time, and she'd always felt too embarrassed to admit that she'd taken it. Giving it back now didn't seem like a great idea, either. It had been years. It wasn't like Reimu was missing it at this point.

The only mirror in Marisa's cottage had been shattered to bits, but in her pile of glass, there were still a few larger slivers. She propped one up against a tree and inspected herself in it. Now that she didn't have her hat anymore, she looked very... plain. She usually had a heavy tan, but her skin was now, well, ghostly white, and she could swear her hair was a bit paler too. Between that and the white robes, she looked like a sheet of paper that somebody had breathed some life into.

Carefully, Marisa held the ribbon in her mouth and reached back to start gathering her hair into one hand. The thing tasted lightly of smoke, but she didn't pay it much mind. Once her hair was bundled together, she grabbed the ribbon with her free hand, wrapped it around the base, and inexpertly tied it into a bow.

There. One ponytail. It wasn't really her normal style, but it gave her a much-needed splash of color. It boosted her mood enough to finish parceling her things out, and with that done, she headed toward the shrine to grab Reimu for today's work.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been one of the things bothering Marisa all through the night. The fireworks were going to take her days to make, and unless she wanted to run around the human village looking like this and risk freaking people out, she wasn't going to be able to go shopping for the ingredients by herself. She also didn't have much money...

But she could get money, and conveniently, from the same person she could probably guilt trip into shopping for her. It was just going to take some finesse to get Rinnosuke to agree to it. Long before Kourindou came into sight, Marisa had already drilled the plan into Reimu, who had wearily agreed even though she seemed confused about the reasoning behind it.

Pushing aside the door into the dark and dusty shop, Marisa found Rinnosuke sitting in the front, his back turned to the door and a newspaper folded open in front of him. The shop was empty of customers as usual, and she'd visited often enough to tell that the merchandise hadn't really changed since her last visit. Under his halfhearted efforts to keep the place presentable, most of it had a thin layer of dust. Before they'd even reached the counter, she grabbed an item off the shelf—'TAPE MEASURE,' the sign said—and started fooling with it, tugging the tape in and out of the small box that housed it. Huh. Neat. “Hey, Kourin,” she said, as Reimu pushed the door shut behind her. When Rinnosuke didn't even turn to greet the pair, she decided to just launch right into her pitch. “You're gonna love this. I've got somethin' to sell you, _and_ I wanna hire you for something. Pretty convenient, huh?”

“It wasn't 'convenient' the last time you sold me something,” Rinnosuke said, not looking up from the paper. “That maid from the mansion almost threatened to kill me over those candlesticks, I'll have you know.”

“Ehe.” Oh, right. She'd forgotten about that. Okay, so maybe this would be a little harder than she'd expected. “Yeah, but look, this time I can prove it's mine, okay? I've even got the craftsman here to vouch for it.”

“The craftsman...?” It was finally enough to pique Rinnosuke's interest. Even so, he didn't do so readily, but let out a low sigh and took his time in folding his paper before he turned to face the pair. Seeing them didn't seem to change his mind. “Unless you want me to expect that Reimu is a 'craftsman' now, I'm not sure what you're talking about.” He trailed off, looking over her with deepening uncertainty. “And what's with those strange clothes?”

“Oh, uh.” Marisa glanced down at herself thoughtfully. This had been the reason for the plan. If she dropped the bomb here and now, she wouldn't get anything done during this visit. She needed to tell him about her death, but... it could wait for a few minutes. Of course, the plan had been to temporarily hide her death from him, but she hadn't thought about what to do if he asked about the outfit. As casually as she could, Marisa fumbled a lie together. “... cosplay. So, anyway...” She laid the tape measure on the counter, pulled the mini-hakkero from its spot at her side... and hesitated. Just the feeling of it in her hands was enough to make her feel better. It had been her constant companion ever since she left her parents' home, the source of most of her powers, and the single most useful tool she'd ever owned. She'd spent dozens of nights with it in hand, breathless and battling her way across Gensokyo. Her heart dropped as she forced herself to lift it up and push it across the counter. “G-got a nice collector's piece for ya here. It's not from the outside world, but I think you'll like it.”

“Marisa.” Rinnosuke seemed more annoyed than upset, and folded his arms across his chest. “I know what the mini-hakkero is. If you're just going to play around, you're wasting my time.”

“It isn't like you have any other customers waiting,” Reimu said from the other side of the shop, where she'd started curiously plucking cards out of a pack.

Rinnosuke sighed, and Marisa grinned at the response. The whole exchange was practically a ritual at this point. Under the circumstances, hearing the well-trodden argument was a bit of reassuring familiarity. “Let's say I'm pawning it, okay? I just want you to hold onto it for me until I need it again,” she said, pushing it across the counter more insistently. “C'mon, tell me how much it's worth.”

“That short on cash?” Rinnosuke reluctantly accepted the mini-hakkero, then produced a magnifying glass from under the counter and squinted at it. “Well, the craftsmanship is excellent, I agree,” he said, with sarcasm so heavy it could crush an oni. “It's held up over the years better than I'd feared. It could use a cleaning, and it's chipped in a few places... you really should take better care of it. It isn't a toy.”

Reimu crossed the shop now to lean over the counter next to Rinnosuke, inspecting the thing as well. “It's hard to imagine that you could make something like that,” she commented idly.

“It's nice to see you too, Reimu.”

“Sorry. It's pretty impressive, though.”

“It's my greatest work so far,” Rinnosuke said, lowering the magnifying glass and sitting up straight. “Which still raises the question of why Marisa here is trying to pawn it for cash. I might be offended if I weren't used to this kind of insensitive behavior from her.”

“Ehe. Well, like I said, cash and a job. I'm not gonna need it for a while, and I could use some stuff that nobody else can do for me. C'mon, Kourin, you know how much that thing means to me. I wouldn't be doing this if I had any choice, okay?”

Rinnosuke held Marisa's gaze, searching for any clue to what the whole conversation was about, then grudgingly pushed it back across the table. “As a temporary pawn? Twenty thousand yen. That's more money than I have on hand, so don't think that you're going to haggle me into paying more.”

“Hmm...” Marisa took her time to pretend to consider the offer, but she didn't really need to. She already knew about how much she needed to finish the fireworks, and that would easily cover it. Under any other circumstances, she would have bartered with him for hours, but it seemed kind of pointless now. He was probably even telling the truth about not having more money on hand. But, if she gave in that easily, he'd be suspicious, and that was exactly what she didn't need right now. “Nah. That's not enough. I also want to borrow your hand cart for a few days...” She turned and looked out at the shop's contents. She'd spent days worth of time in here, just making Rinnosuke talk about his wares when she was bored, so she had a better idea of what all of this strange junk was than most. Still, it wasn't like she really needed anything else... “All of those,” she pointed to a box of assorted accessories, mostly hair ornaments, on the counter. “... and that thing.” Some contraption in the corner that was a complete mystery to her. There, that should cover it.

“You want a vacuum cleaner and a box of mostly hair clips,” Rinnosuke said flatly. It was audacious enough that he didn't seem to want to consider it too heavily, which was one advantage, at least. “Are you going to tell me what this is about?”

“Look, all I want is for you to go buy some stuff in the village,” Marisa said, and pushed a folded piece of paper across the counter. “Today. That should cost about twelve thousand, and you can keep the rest to pay for your time. I'll explain once you agree to do it.”

“This is sounding more suspicious by the minute...” Rinnosuke said. Reluctantly, he picked the paper up, unfolded it, and started skimming the contents. “I don't know what half of this stuff is, but I think I could do that.” He took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose as he considered, and finally said, “I'll conditionally agree, but I'm not making it official until you tell me what this is about. If you've gotten yourself into trouble or something, you should be straightforward about it.”

At that, Reimu guiltily averted her gaze, and Marisa chuckled nervously. “Uh, well. About that, y'see...”

* * *

Rinnosuke had taken the news of Marisa's death a _little_ better than Alice and Reimu, but he was about a zillion years older than either of them, so it only stood to reason. It was exactly why she'd wanted to get the deal made before she told him, since the awkward dance of condolences, reminiscing, and questions had lasted for hours. When it had ended and he started preparing the mini-hakkero for storage, Reimu had butted in, reaching across the counter and grabbing his wrist. “Wait. Um. Before you do... can we do something first?”

So here they were, in the forest behind Kourindou, far enough away that the shop was barely visible through the trees. It had been Rinnosuke's sole restriction: If Reimu wanted to have one last spell card duel with Marisa, she wasn't doing it within blasting range of the shop.

Marisa had had one additional requirement, the broom that she was now carrying. Rinnosuke had been reluctant to let her borrow it, after everything she'd already extorted out of him, but she wasn't about to fight a duel without a broom. A girl had to have her dignity, and she was too used to it by now. Even though she could easily fly without one, all of her familiar combat stances had been practiced on one.

The broom that Rinnosuke had grabbed for her wouldn't have been her first choice—a little bumpy for her sitting preferences—but under the circumstances, it'd do. Marisa settled onto it sidesaddle, then started drifting in a circle around the clearing to get used to the feel of it, while getting the mini-hakkero comfortable in her hand. “What're we doin'? Best out of three?”

“Ten cards apiece,” Reimu said, as she fished a stack of ofuda out of her sleeve and spread them in her fingers calmly. “With incident rules. Whoever has the least hits by the end wins.”

Marisa let out a low whistle. Ten spell cards. She might not have been capable of getting tired anymore, but by the end of something like _that_ , she'd definitely be ready to relax for a bit. … Reimu had probably picked such a high number just to intimidate her. “Yeah, well, just to be fair to you, let's alternate, 'cuz if I went first, you'd be too tired from dodgin' by the end to even shoot back on your turn.”

Reimu snorted dismissively. “Sure, if you want.”

“Great.” Marisa gave the mini-hakkero a practiced flip into the air, sending it spinning, and when it landed in her hand again, she activated it with a practiced, subtle gesture. Energy thrummed through her body, and a blue flame flared from the tip. It was a nice, familiar feeling, full of memories of duels and experiments. She was kind of glad that Reimu had proposed this already. She would have regretted passing on without one last excuse to cut loose. “Who goes first?”

They both turned to Rinnosuke. “Why do I have to decide?” he said, with a put-upon shake of his head. It didn't stop him from fishing a coin purse from inside his robe, then deftly pulling a coin out and flipping it. “Call it.”

“Heads!”

“Hea—tails!”

Rinnosuke caught the coin, fumbled, almost dropped it, and finally gave it a glance. “Tails. Marisa goes first.”

“Hehe. Yeah!” Marisa kicked off of the ground and floated backward a meter or two, idly adjusting the mini-hakkero's flame into a white-hot jet. “Can't wait to tell everybody that Reimu got her butt kicked by a dead girl.”

“Isn't our record something like 60/40 in my favor?” Reimu said, with a competitive smile spreading on her lips.

“Those were flukes. There isn't anybody who can stand up to my mini-hakkero when I'm in top form, y'know.”

“Uh-huh. Are you going to fight, or just talk all night?”

“Heh.” Marisa grinned, and it only grew wider as she stoked her laughter into an exaggerated, melodramatic laugh. “Foolish shrine maiden! Now I'm gonna show ya the danmaku of the dead! Prepare yourself!”

Hovering higher into the air, she started mumbling long-familiar spells. The air around her glowed subtly as the power flowed out of her, with half a dozen magical foci flickering into existence behind her. It was her first spell card of the night and, a part of her unhelpfully noted, the last time she'd ever get to use this one. No reason to _not_ make it as dramatic as possible. If she'd had a little more warning, she probably would have tried putting together a scary-sounding fake incantation to bellow across the battlefield.

When she was certain that she'd put on as much of a show as she could without Reimu getting impatient, Marisa raised the mini-hakkero and braced it in both hands. Even so, she drew the firing sequence out as long as she could, first letting a harmless shaft of white light spear forward, then slowly raising the intensity until the air around it was roiling with heat. “MAAAAAASTERRRRR...” Finally, she released all the built-up energy at once, blasting it forward in a wave of destruction wide enough that it would have flattened Kourindou. “SPAAAAAAARK!”


	7. Chapter 7

Four to six, Reimu's favor. Marisa blamed a lot of things for it. The unfamiliar broom, the slightly different flow of energy through her ghostly physiology... mostly, though, she'd just been too busy enjoying herself to care. It was hard to get too caught up on who won or lost, under the circumstances.

By the time the fight had finished, it had been pretty late in the afternoon, late enough that Marisa was starting to worry about Rinnosuke getting the shopping done in time. The sun had been going down by the time that he returned from the village... but his cart was piled high with most of the things she'd requested. Reimu had said her goodbyes, and Marisa had spent hours just ferrying the many bags and boxes from Kourindou to the shed behind Hakugyokurou.

It would have been exhausting, back-breaking work if she were still alive. As things were, it was just boring. By the time she settled the last sack into the corner, she was ready for a change of pace.

This time... Marisa took a few more precautions to keep from blowing herself up. She didn't think it would particularly _hurt_ , but blowing up all the ingredients and her workspace didn't seem like it would make it any easier to get done in time.

It was hours later, as she ground charcoal in a mortar and pestle, that she noticed movement from the corner of her eye and a soft white glow filling the room. Turning, she found herself face to face with a small phantom, hovering through the air slowly. Before she had much of a chance to react to it, she noticed another one drifting above her head.

“Uh. Hi there.”

Marisa tried taking a step away from them, and the phantoms drifted along like they were tied to her with invisible strings. It was only after her third attempt that she realized: They weren't just following her, they were _orbiting_ her. Looked like Yuyuko had been right. The rest of her soul had arrived.

* * *

“So these are you, huh?” Reimu reached out and lightly prodded one of the phantoms, which didn't seem to notice as it continued its slow course through the air.

“Yeah, I guess. I can't really feel 'em or anything, but Yuyuko said this'd happen...”

“Hmm...” Reimu slid her hands around the phantom, cupping it, then pulled it up to lightly pin it against her chest. “... they're pretty cold, though. This could be nice this afternoon...”

“Useful, huh?” Marisa gave a weak smile at the sight. It almost made her feel guilty about all the times she used phantoms to keep her house cool during the summer, or to chill food... but Reimu was right, they _were_ convenient like that. Not that she had much use for it these days.

The change had left her a bit uncomfortable, though. There was the strange realization that she'd been walking around with only part of her soul for a few days now, but the way Yuyuko had explained it, these were the bits that were more tied to her body. Probably not anything she would have noticed missing. But she'd taken a good look at herself in a mirror during the night, and, well. White kimono, pale skin, glowing spirits circling her... apart from the red ribbon in her hair, she looked like a textbook picture of a ghost. All she needed was one of those little triangle hats and she could practically be an illustration in some relatively tame ghost story. Even her hair seemed to have lightened to a near-white corn silk color.

At least it wasn't like she could end up looking much deader.

“Hey, Reimu,” Marisa said, shaking herself out of her funk. “Y'know, these are the bits of my soul that were stuck in my body after I died. That one was probably my butt's soul or somethin'.”

“I don't think that's how it works,” Reimu said, but released the phantom anyway. It languidly glided over to hover just behind Marisa's head. “So, anyway, who are you visiting today?”

“Ehe. Today... today's gonna suck. Oh! Before we go, though, I got you a present.”

“You did?” Reimu blinked in surprised and looked over her. “... where is it?”

“Not even trying to hide your greed, huh?” Hiding the small sack she'd brought with her in the kimono _had_ been a bit of a pain, but apparently it had worked. Maybe the phantoms were a nice distraction. Marisa turned around to fish it out of the folds of the robe, then turned back and offered it over.

“Was that inside of your...?”

“Just take it.”

“Fine, fine.” Reimu grabbed the sack and tugged it open, revealing the collection of hair ornaments that Marisa had bought at Kourindou the day before. She'd thrown a few of her own in there for good measure, since it wasn't like she'd used them much in the first place. It was an eclectic mix, like everything else from Kourindou: Everything from cheap elastic bands to elaborate kanzashi that Marisa would never have any hope of putting on. “... so that's what those were for. I was kind of wondering what you were going to do with something like that.”

“Pick one and I'll put it on for ya!” She just had to hope that Reimu didn't pick one of the really complicated ones.

“Don't rush me!” Reimu reached into the bag and dug through the contents a few times before pulling out a lacquered hair stick with a white metal flower dangling from the blunt end. “I'm not sure if this is too flashy, but it's pretty...”

“Well, let's find out.” Marisa scooted into place behind her, gently tugged the bow out of her hair, then started gathering it up into a bun. She hadn't done this kind of thing to herself in years, and she'd never really done them with anybody else, but somehow she fumbled through it, ending up with a more-or-less presentable bun wrapped around the stick, with the ornament dangling where it would be just visible from the front. “All done.”

Reimu slowly turned around, gently prodding at the unfamiliar hairstyle with her fingers. “How does it look...?”

“I-it's, uh. You were right, it's pretty.” It was an understatement, in Marisa's opinion. She was suddenly glad that she no longer had the physiology for blushing.

“Well, um!” Reimu, on the other hand, was apparently still quite capable. “... thanks. And thank you for getting them. … while we're on the subject of hair, though, where did that ribbon in your hair come from?”

“Oh! This!” Marisa had completely forgotten that she'd been wearing the red ribbon... and had kind of been hoping that Reimu hadn't really thought about it. “I-it's, um, it's a long story. Y'know what? We have a lot of walking to do. I'll tell you on the way there, if I feel like it.”

* * *

“Lady Patchouli,” Sakuya said, as she pushed the door to the library open. “You have visitors.”

“I'd prefer not to be disturbed today. Please ask them to come b—“ Patchouli trailed off, as she caught her first glimpse of Marisa leaning over the maid's shoulder. “... could you show them in and bring some tea?”

“Of course.” Sakuya ushered the pair into the room, and even pulled out their chairs for them. It was the most polite that Marisa had ever seen her during a visit to the mansion. She hoped Sakuya wasn't just taking it easy on her because she'd died. She might have to pocket something small on her way out just out of spite if that were the case. Ah well.

“So, the rumors were true,” Patchouli said, sliding a worn bookmark into the tome in front of her and pushing it closed. She took a few moments to inspect Marisa over the table, and Marisa couldn't help but feel that she was being... measured, somehow. “Do I even want to know how you did this?”

“Wait, there're rumors?” Marisa slid into a seat across from her and tried to sneak a peek at the title of the book that Patchouli had been reading.

“There are, yes. I'd hoped that they weren't true, honestly.” Patchouli sighed and pulled the book into her lap, holding it to her stomach. “Or had you thought that nobody would notice you walking around dressed like that after your house burnt down?”

“I guess...” It made sense, but she still didn't like it. It didn't take long for juicy rumors to spread from one end of Gensokyo to the other. The next person she told probably wouldn't even be surprised. Soon enough, people would be taking it for granted that Marisa Kirisame was dead.

Apparently she was showing her displeasure, because Reimu gave her a reassuring pat on the back before settling into her own seat at the table. “Do I even want to know how you did this?” Patchouli asked after a pause.

“Well, I was fightin' this army of demons on top of a volcano...”

“She blew herself up while making fireworks,” Reimu said.

“Aw. You're no fun.”

“I see,” Patchouli said. “I'd advise you on proper safety procedures for working with pyrotechnics, but it's a little late for that, isn't it?”

“... well, just because I died doesn't mean I stopped making 'em.”

Patchouli shook her head in mild disbelief, but her expression softened. “I suppose it isn't surprising that you wouldn't let something like death slow you down. Plenty of magicians have made names for themselves in the afterlife. I'm sure that you'll be fine. Under the circumstances, I have some books on necromancy that I could let you borrow. You might find them more conducive to your current form.”

… Marisa had to admit, part of her was _really_ tempted. It had never really been something she'd paid much attention to before, but there was never a bad time to start. Slowly, though, she talked herself down with a reminder that she wasn't going to have the time. “That sounds... really cool, but, uh. No thanks. I don't think I'm really gonna get many chances for reading.”

Patchouli nodded slowly and folded her hands on the table in front of her. “Then you plan to move on soon.”

Jeez, she wasn't pulling any punches. Marisa chuckled weakly and rubbed at the back of her head with one hand. “Yeah, you caught me. I'm just wrappin' up some business first. I normally wouldn't really rush it, but I'm kinda workin' on a deadline. … heh, get it? Deadline?”

Reimu cracked a weak smile at that, but Patchouli didn't seem amused in the slightest. She shouldn't have expected a reaction, really, but it was worth a shot. “I see. I don't want to say 'I told you so,' but maybe if you'd applied yourself to your studies and become a full youkai magician...” Patchouli's heart wasn't really in the chastising, though. With a sigh, she left it at that. “I won't waste your time. It's nice to see you, in any case.”

“Hey, even I'm not rude enough to disappear without sayin' bye!” Marisa said, sounding entirely too proud at the statement. Her bombastic grin softened to something a bit subtler as she added, “Actually, I'm here on business today. Kinda. I, uh, brought you a present.”

“A present,” Patchouli said, her voice flat with disbelief.

“Yeah! It's outside, though, so you've gotta come with us.”

Patchouli defiantly held Marisa's gaze for several seconds, obviously not relishing the idea of such a long walk, before pushing herself to standing. “Very well.”

* * *

Walking across the Scarlet Devil Mansion could be a chore at the best of times, with some particular corridors stretching for kilometers. Getting from the library to the front door was a ten-minute trip when taken at a brisk walk. In the pervasive summer humidity, with Patchouli roused from her rest so quickly, it took rather longer, thanks to the magician shuffling along at a snail's pace.

When the front door to the mansion swung open, Marisa hurried excitedly down the stairs, leaving Patchouli to catch up. “Are you going to tell me what this is about?”

“Yeah, hold on! I told ya, it's a surprise.” Marisa ran off through the front gate and disappeared around the wall, while Patchouli came to rest at the bottom of the stairs and waited impatiently. Fortunately, she wasn't waiting for long before Marisa walked back into view, pulling Rinnosuke's hand cart behind her.

Thrust from the comfortable darkness of the library into the noon sun, Patchouli had to squint and shield her eyes to make out any more detail, but it quickly became obvious what she was looking at. The cart was piled high with books. Dozens, possibly hundreds of them, almost threatening to spill over the edges. Marisa came to a stop a few meters in front of her, then turned to look over the cart's contents with a faltering smile on her face. “I, um, always did say you could have 'em back when I died, so... ehe.”

Incredulously, Patchouli stepped over and grabbed a book from the top, then flipped through it. “This is... all of these are mine?”

“Yeah. … you really oughta beef up your security, huh?”

“We were loading them for half the morning,” Reimu said with a sigh.

“They're a little smoke-damaged, and a few got their pages pretty crumpled when my roof fell on 'em, but I think they're all there,” Marisa continued. “You can send the bills for all of the damages and stuff to the Hakurei shr—“ She cut off as Reimu prodded her in the side, then laughed uneasily. “Well, okay, I threw a few extras in there. I had some other books layin' around. I guess I won't really need 'em anymore, so...”

Marisa trailed off, as she realized that Patchouli was trembling as she looked through the pile. “I-I should have known that you wouldn't even manage to return them in proper condition,” she said, her voice cracking halfway through the sentence. With a sniffle, Patchouli rather inelegantly wiped her nose with the back of one hand, then seemed to gather her resolve all in one go. By the time she whirled toward Marisa, she was back to her usual grumpy expression, even if there were tears brimming in her eyes, and Marisa was surprised by the force with which Patchouli shoved a book into her arms. “Since you're the one who stole them, I'm sure that you remember where every book goes. Get to reshelving, thief.”


	8. Chapter 8

Reshelving all of the books didn't take quite as long as Marisa had feared, with Koakuma hovering over her and 'helpfully' pointing out every mistake that she made. It was still most of a day's labor, although made more pleasant by Patchouli frequently allowing her to take breaks to join herself and Reimu for tea and snacks. She was pretty sure that the whole thing had just been an excuse for Patchouli to spend a day with her, but took care to keep up the right amount of exasperated complaining about the labor until it was done.

By the time the pair left the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the sun was going down. Without really thinking about it, Marisa trailed Reimu back to the shrine. It was so easy to do. More and more, she was feeling like she belonged by Reimu's side. The nights of making fireworks felt so long and lonely, and in the morning, her spirit would leap when she saw Reimu for the first time. She was starting to understand why ghosts had a reputation for being so irrational. Dealing with that kind of longing for years... that could break the strongest of minds. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

As soon as the two arrived at the shrine, Reimu flopped down onto her stomach on the floor, laying just inside the open doorway to look out over Gensokyo and up at the sky. “It's way too hot for that much work...”

“Hey, _you're_ not the one who pulled the cart and had to put all those books away,” Marisa said, laying down a meter or so away from Reimu. She had to admit, the view from the shrine was pretty great at this time of night.

“I'm also not the one who stole them in the first place. A shrine maiden shouldn't interfere in the natural cycle of punishment.”

“Sounds like an excuse for bein' lazy to me,” Marisa said with a smirk. Now that the sun was down, it had rapidly cooled down to a more comfortable temperature. The stars were just starting to come out, mirrored by the lights of scattered houses below, and the quiet droning whine of cicadas underlined everything. It was almost a perfect summer evening, apart from one thing... “Y'know, this feels like a good occasion for sake.”

“Is that why you followed me home?”

“Well, not the _only_ reason...”

Reimu sighed, seeming reluctant to move from her spot on the floor. “I don't know if I have any...”

“C'mon, are you gonna deny a dead girl one last drink?”

“Did you forget about your going-away party? Kasen already promised to bring an entire cask. I kind of wonder where she gets it...” With a slight grunt of exertion, Reimu pushed herself up to standing. “I'll go look in the kitchen,” she said. “Maybe I have some left over from cooking.”

“If ya don't, I'm gonna haunt you!” Marisa shouted back over her shoulder, then settled back down onto the floor. One of her phantoms floated into view above, obscuring her view of the stars, and she gave it a gentle shove to hurry it along its way. Before long, she heard Reimu's footsteps approaching from behind her, then a dish thudded to the tatami mat in front of her face.

“You're in luck. There's enough for about two drinks apiece,” Reimu said. She sat another down for herself, then filled the two before resuming her position on the floor. Drinking looked a bit awkward in that position, but she didn't seem to be in any hurry to move.

“Uh-huh.” Marisa tilted her own dish back and took a sip. She wasn't sure if she could get drunk like this, but some occasions just called for it.

The two sat in companionable silence, with only the occasional sip to disrupt the peace. After several minutes, Marisa was becoming increasingly certain that the alcohol wasn't having any effect on her. Oh well. As amused as she had been by the idea of getting trashed and saying a bunch of inappropriate stuff at her going-away party, it probably wasn't a good idea.

“Hey, Marisa...” Reimu finally said, still looking up at the stars.

“Yeah?”

“The... important business that you have to take care of. How important is it?”

Marisa looked down at her drink as she tried to figure out how to answer that. Dimly, she noticed that the moon was reflected in its surface. She hadn't realized that it was waning. Usually she kept track of that stuff, but it hadn't exactly been a top priority this week. Huh. That meant it would be a nice, dark night for her fireworks show. “Well, it's pretty important to _me_. I don't know if it'll really change much after I'm gone, but... if I don't do it, I'll just be pissed with myself forever anyway.”

“There isn't anything that will change your mind, is there?”

“I kinda wish there was. This still feels pretty crazy... but yeah. I made up my mind.”

“Mmh.” Reimu pushed her now-empty drink away and shifted on the floor until she was laying on her side, facing Marisa. “You've always been like that, haven't you? You just... know what you want and go get it. It must be nice.”

“Y-yeah, kinda, I guess.” Sensing that the conversation was heading into unfamiliar territory, Marisa sat her own drink a safe distance away.

Reimu lowered her eyes toward the floor, and laid there in thoughtful silence for the better part of a minute. When she continued, her voice barely broke a quiet murmur. “I just... really wish you could stay here. I know we've fought a lot, and too many youkai come here for me to say I'll be lonely, but...” The sentence tapered off, and she didn't seem to have any intention to finish it. Another uneasy silence followed until she changed the subject. “... how much work do you have left on the fireworks?”

It was a welcome change of topic, from Marisa's perspective. In this state, seeing Reimu in pain like that, and over _her_... it was unbearable. _A few more days,_ she had to remind herself, _and I can tell her everything._ “A-a bit. I salvaged more from my place than I expected, so it won't take as long as it could have. The rest of the deliveries should be quicker than today's, too. I might actually get some free time.”

“Then do you... mind staying here tonight? I don't really feel like being alone right now...”

Another pang of guilt through Marisa's chest. Reimu must have been hiding her pain pretty well the last day or two for it to burst so suddenly like that. Maybe she really should have just avoided her for the week and hoped that no rumors reached her. … probably wouldn't have worked, but nothing could be worse than this.

Her first instinct was still to crack a joke to dispel some of the tension, but she pushed it down. Maybe if she'd just faced her feelings and admitted them sometime when she was alive, she wouldn't be in this situation now. “Yeah, I could,” she said softly. As casually as she could, she reached over and grabbed Reimu's hand, interlacing their fingers and just holding it in the space between them. Part of her was terrified that even such a small gesture would fulfill her dying wish and make her disappear, but... if it happened now, she wouldn't regret a thing. “Still ain't goin' anywhere, okay?”

* * *

Between the time spent reshelving Patchouli's books and the night spent at Reimu's, Marisa had lost most of a day of working time. It wasn't a major setback, but it meant that most of her head start on the fireworks had been lost, and there was still plenty to get done.

The next couple of days vanished in a blur of carefully mixing explosive powders, making plans for her going-away party, scarce moments at the shrine, and long trips back and forth across Gensokyo to hand out her belongings and say her goodbyes. The doohickey from Kourindou—whatever Rinnosuke had called it, vacuum something—went to Nitori, along with a heaping box of all of the weird outside world junk that she'd found scattered around Gensokyo. The few youma books she owned went to Kosuzu, who was far more overjoyed by the gift than somebody so young really ought to. Most of her more mundane books went to the Fairies of Light, along with her pet tsuchinoko after she got them to promise that they'd feed it enough to keep it from causing trouble again. The potted plants and mushrooms that had been scattered around her cottage had all gone to Yuuka, who had seemed darkly amused by the gift. What little remained of her personal notes went to Akyuu, for inclusion in the Gensokyo Chronicle as she saw fit. Kasen got a weird rock that she was _pretty_ sure was some kind of big egg; Kasen was polite about it, but seemed pretty certain that it was only a neat rock.

After days of giving her life away bit by bit, there was very little left. The piles of belongings that she'd rescued from the cottage had dwindled down until only the junk remained. A bunch of clothes, too heavily smoke damaged to be worth giving away. Furniture, dishes, and pottery that had been smashed in the collapse. The broken remains of a mirror, a few burnt books... nothing that anybody would miss.

Apart from the pyrotechnics supplies she had stashed in Hakugyokurou—which had mostly been transformed into fireworks by this point—she'd only saved a single thing, actually. Her axe.

It was late in the evening when Marisa started methodically smashing the frame to her cottage to the ground. With the moon thinning down the a barely-visible sliver, the night was dark, but her phantom souls provided enough light to work by. The sound of cracking wood broke the silence of the Forest of Magic, and briefly, she wondered if it was loud enough to disrupt Alice's sleep. Probably not. It wasn't like she would have stopped even if it were.

Tomorrow was the last day of Bon, the party at the Hakurei shrine, and the night she'd confess to Reimu. Tomorrow would quite possibly be the last day of her existence. So, if she was going to do this, it had to be tonight.

After the collapse, the walls of her cottage hadn't been very stable, so it didn't take much work to knock them down and smash them into splinters. Once she'd reduced her house to a pile of broken lumber, she started grabbing the sections of her roof that she and Alice had dragged out of it and hurling them back on top.

Reimu liked her too. That much was clear now. Maybe she'd even known it all along. She'd only spent the one night at the Hakurei shrine, one long night of holding Reimu's hand and talking to her until she drifted off into fitful sleep, but it was obvious that Reimu had wanted more.

More time was the one thing that Marisa couldn't afford to give her. Part of her still hated herself for it. She could try to push her feelings down and just soldier on as her friend, but... would _Reimu_ even want that? If Reimu ever said the slightest thing about romance, the only way for Marisa to preserve herself would be to break her heart, and she wasn't sure if she was even capable of that now.

So. Might as well get it over with now.

She didn't know how long it took her to get everything piled back up, but she was in no rush. After the very last piece settled into place, she walked around the foundation, brushing away the few dried leaves that had landed near it, then knelt down at the base of the pile and began to mumble a spell.

She no longer had the mini-hakkero, and she didn't own a single book of magic. Not even a pointy hat to her name. She wasn't much of a magician anymore, she had to admit. Just an ordinary ghost.

But even without any of those, Marisa still had a handful of useful spells memorized. This was one of the very first she'd ever learned, and it held a special place in her heart. Reaching the end of the incantation, she snapped her fingers, and a thick tongue of flame burst into the pile of mostly flammable detritus.

By the time the fire had spread across the remains of Marisa's worldly possessions, the sun was cresting over the horizon. Once she'd monitored the blaze for a while to make sure it wasn't going to spread, she backed away, then forced herself to turn and fly toward Hakugyokurou.

Her to-do list had gotten pretty short. She had about twelve hours before the party started and a few final fireworks to put together in that time. Afterward, it would finally be time to face her destiny.


	9. Chapter 9

Under normal circumstances, Marisa would insist on firing off all of her fireworks herself. Craftsman's pride, or something like that.

But these were anything but normal circumstances. As it was, she'd talked Nitori, the second-most explosives-savvy person in Gensokyo, into handling them. The humans wouldn't be happy if they knew that their festivities were being provided by a kappa, but they probably wouldn't be much happier with a ghost, either. She'd set everything up a good distance away from the village, anyway, so hopefully it wouldn't be an issue.

By the time she finished walking Nitori through the instructions and headed to the shrine, festivities were already ramping up. A good two dozen revelers were already gathered in scattered groups in front of the shrine, and true to her word, Kasen had set up a cask of sake. As soon as Marisa landed in the courtyard, the milling youkai turned to face her, one by one, and a silence fell across the entire crowd.

Marisa paused. She was going to be the center of attention all night, wasn't she? Seemed kinda awkward. Really, she just wanted one last night of hanging around people. Being treated like she was already gone... not so much. “... what's up? You guys look like you just saw a ghost.”

A wave of weak laughter went through the crowd, and Marisa sensed that she might need to do a bit better than that if she wanted them to relax. Maybe if she gave it some time, the alcohol would—

Before she could put together much of a plan, she was tackled from behind. “M'rishaaaaaa,” Sanae whined. “You're not acshly... acshul... actually leaving us, are you?”

“... hey,” Marisa said, subtly shifting her weight so that she could see Sanae, although the shrine maiden remained leaning on her for support. Judging by the way that her face was practically glowing red, she'd had a few drinks. “You aren't lookin' great.”

Sanae disregarded the comment and continued. “I just wan'you t'know that I'm going to miss you!”

“I, uh... I'm gonna miss you too, okay?”

“Mishyousomush!” 

Sanae started tearing up, and Marisa pulled her into an uncertain hug. Over the shrine maiden's shoulder, she could see Kanako and Suwako, watching the scene with mild amusement. Kanako shot Marisa an apologetic smile.

“How many drinks has she had?” Marisa asked as quietly as she could, mouthing the words to make them more visible than audible.

Kanako held up two fingers. “I'm sorry. Our Sanae is a bit of a lightweight, I'm afraid. How are you doing, Marisa?”

“Apart from bein' dead? Not bad, I guess...”

Sanae pulled back a little, just far enough to point a finger at Marisa and loudly announce, “This here's my girl! Nummer one friend! Everybody treat 'er good tonight!”

A wave of more legitimate laughter spread through the crowd. Marisa gave Sanae a few pats on the back, then carefully disentangled herself from the drunken girl's arms and took a step away. Kanako thankfully took the hint and helped Sanae away from her, while Sanae continued to shout, “'z my girl!”

It seemed to have been the icebreaker that the group needed, and most of the attendees were back to mingling naturally. As Sanae's adoptive parents/deities led her away and guided her to sitting at the base of a tree, Marisa turned to look at the group. It wasn't a bad showing for this early in the festivities. Everybody from the Moriya shrine, Aya sneaking around snapping pictures, Patchouli, Remilia with Sakuya keeping a parasol carefully positioned between her and the sun, Alice, Kasen, a rare summer showing from Cirno, Daiyousei, the Fairies of Light, the Eientei crew, Sekibanki, Yuyuko, Youmu... 

But, she was slowly realizing, no Reimu.

Marisa made her way through the crowd as subtly as an undead guest of honor could, but a closer survey of the group just confirmed her suspicions. Reimu wasn't here.

Kasen, keeping position by the cask of sake, was the first one to notice her distress. “Marisa! Is something wrong?”

“Yeah... have you seen Reimu around?”

“Hmm...” Kasen took a look around for herself. “She was out here earlier, yes. She said she had to go take care of something... maybe she'll be back soon?” She turned back to Marisa, and her expression softened as she said, “Is there anything I can get for you? I know that this must be hard.”

Marisa reluctantly stopped scanning the group and weighed her options. Okay, so. There was no reason to panic yet. Reimu was probably off dealing with some minor annoyance. With this many youkai around, the odds that she might have needed to teach somebody a lesson were about... 100%. Especially around Bon, when supernatural activity was higher than usual. Right. Nothing to worry about. It was her own damn shrine, it wasn't like she was going to go somewhere else. “Sure, gimme some sake. Do you have that oni stuff again?”

“I've decided to keep that to myself. Last time was enough of a disaster,” Kasen said, as she prepared a cup for Marisa and then offered it over with a smile. “I think you'll like it, though! It's the finest I could get on such short notice.”

Marisa started reaching for the cup, then hesitated. Kasen was holding it in her bandaged arm. “That thing isn't gonna... hurt me if I touch it, is it?”

“Hmm?” Kasen's eyes followed Marisa's down to her hand, then she laughed nervously. “A-ah, no, of course not! Here.” She shifted the drink to her other hand and offered it over again. This time, Marisa took it more eagerly. “I don't think that there's any advice I can give you to help with your situation. Reincarnation and I don't get along very well either,” she said, idly rubbing at the base of her bandaged arm with her other hand. “But whatever you do, I'm sure that you'll make the right decision.”

“Mmhm...” Marisa said, and took a sip of the sake. Even without being treated by the Box of a Hundred Medicines, it was pretty darn good. Better than anything she or Reimu were ever going to be able to buy on their budgets. Even without the alcohol having any effect, it helped steady her thoughts a little, and she smiled. “Thanks, Kasen. I'm gonna be countin' on you to keep Reimu in line once I'm gone, you know.”

“I'll do my best!” Kasen said, flexing one arm. “If we don't get a chance to talk again... goodbye, Marisa.”

It was the first time that anybody had... said it today, and said it like that. The realization slowly blossomed inside of her, that the conversations she had tonight might be the last ones she ever had with these people. Then and there, Marisa resolved to talk to as many of them as possible. “Y-yeah.” She drained her cup and offered it back, suddenly no longer as interested in spending the night drinking. “See ya later, Kasen.”

* * *

As the evening dragged on, more and more people showed up, until it seemed like most of Gensokyo's non-human residents were present. Marisa was almost surprised that such a varied group seemed to be peacefully coexisting. It was like all the myriad factions had called one-night truces. Mokou and Kaguya were drifting around the event separately, coexisting with no friction apart from the occasional baleful glare. Most of the Buddhists and Taoists were sitting in opposing lines on the stairs, pouring each other drinks in some kind of apparent game of one-upmanship as Byakuren fervently pretended not to notice. Even the fairies seemed to have dropped their normal childish squabbling in favor of a night of relaxation.

Part of Marisa was proud that so many disparate groups were getting along, and apparently in her honor. Part of her... was just watching the horizon, waiting to see the familiar red-white profile of Reimu approaching at any second.

The longer the party continued without Reimu, the more anxious Marisa got. She made her rounds, giving Sunny Milk a piggyback ride around the shrine while Star and Luna cheered her on, arm-wrestling Suika (and losing), getting a good-natured lecture on karma from Byakuren and a competing offer for eternal life as a spirit (tempting...) from Miko, giving Aya one last interview, inexpertly waltzing with a slightly-sobered Sanae while the Prismrivers played their first song for the night, having a mock duel with Cirno using the few wispy projectiles she could summon with the spells she had on hand, talking chemistry with a nervous Reisen... but no Reimu.

By the time the sun was starting to drift close to the horizon, the other guests to the party started to wander off one by one, saying their often-tearful goodbyes. It was the one stipulation she'd put on the arrangement: Everybody had to be gone before sunset, because what she did next, she needed to be alone for. Kasen was the last one to leave, giving Marisa a few last words of encouragement before carrying the empty cask off down the hill.

And with that, Marisa was left alone on the front steps of the Hakurei shrine. As calmly as she could, she tried to deduce something from what she knew. Kasen had said Reimu had headed out to take care of something, but most of the youkai had been at the party. Maybe some newcomer was causing trouble? It was practically the only explanation for Reimu leaving the shrine unguarded with dozens of youkai around. Or... or maybe... maybe she was just hiding inside the shrine.

Approaching the door, Marisa gave it a gentle tug.

It was locked. That had to be it, then. “Hey, Reimu!” she said, jostling it a little more and knocking on it. “Reimu, are ya in there?!”

Nothing.

Marisa hurried around the shrine and tried the back door. Locked too. Just for good measure, she gave it a few more bangs, but she couldn't hear a peep inside. If Reimu was hiding in there, she was being quiet enough.

She wracked her mind for ideas. It was getting too late to do much. There just wasn't enough time left to go anywhere else. Even flying as fast as she could, she wouldn't be able to get halfway across Gensokyo in the time she had left, let alone make a dent in hunting for Reimu without knowing where she was. She'd just have to assume that Reimu was inside of the shrine and try to find a way in...

Oh. Wait. She was a ghost. Right.

Thoughtfully, Marisa prodded her fingertip against the shrine's door. She knew she'd seen ghosts go through stuff before. It was just a question of how to make it work... Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to focus on how much she needed to get to Reimu like now, on reminding herself that she was dead, whatever seemed like it might be helpful. It didn't seem to be doing any good, with prod after prod just stopping right at the door's surface...

And then, without realizing it at first, it worked. Her finger sunk a centimeter or two into the door, with a dull lack of sensation in the areas that intersected it. Cautiously, she drove it a little further in, until she felt the other end emerge into the slightly cooler air of the shrine. Next was her whole hand, then her arm. Bracing herself for the possibility that she was going to walk headfirst into the door, Marisa gritted her teeth and took a single long step forward.

The alien feeling of the door passing through her—or her passing through the door, she guessed—was thankfully brief. Inside, the shrine was dark apart from the pale light of her phantoms. It wasn't a good sign, but she wasn't about to give up now. “Reimu! Reimu, are you home? I... w-we really need to talk, okay?” She moved room to room quickly, throwing open doors and ducking into rooms. She scoured the shrine exhaustively...

And found nothing. Reimu wasn't here. The shrine was in its usual state of mild neglect, and apart from the circumstances, there was nothing to suggest that Reimu hadn't just stepped out for the night.

Before she could even decide on her course of action, a concussive explosion rattled the shrine's aged frame, followed by a quieter chorus of dozens of higher-pitched squeals. She didn't even need to look outside to know what she was hearing. The explosion was a red starburst, as large as the human village and so vivid that it would hang in the air for at least ten seconds, and the squeals were smaller ribbons of white sparks, enchanted rockets spiraling outward from the main projectile. She'd spent half of a day perfecting that one alone.

The fireworks show had started. She'd missed her chance.


	10. Chapter 10

In a fugue, Marisa stumbled toward the door. Her hands fumbled with the lock, and she only barely managed to push it open before she slumped to the floor.

The red-and-white blossom was slowly fading from the sky. It was the start of the show in earnest, and three more trails of fire shot up before bursting into a shower of glimmering stars, which each exploded into multicolored sparks so fine that they looked like rainbows radiating through the sky. The light illuminated half of Gensokyo's countryside, showing off the entire landscape in the first flash before slowly fading.

No matter what else, Marisa was at least providing a pretty good show for everybody. She doubted there was a spot in Gensokyo where the display wasn't visible. Wherever Reimu was, she had to be seeing this too.

It was the one heartening thought that she had as she watched the fireworks fire off one by one, blasting Gensokyo with pyrotechnic displays that she'd spent her last week on earth putting together. So much for her grand gesture. With each progressive explosion, she felt a little emptier inside, until only two questions were left:

Why had Reimu left? It didn't make sense. She'd been sure that Reimu had felt the same way. Was she wrong? Had Reimu changed her mind? She didn't even know what explanation hurt most. It didn't make sense.

And... what now? What did it even mean for her if she'd been wrong, or Reimu had changed her mind? It hurt to even leave her side right now. Was she just going to cling to Reimu pathetically for the rest of her existence? Could she still go through with it and hope for _some_ kind of resolution? Maybe she'd just end up like one of those eternally lost ghosts that popped up in stories a lot, shambling out of the forest on moonless nights to demand travelers to lead her to Reimu or something. Yeah, great. Why not.

With a series of rapid-fire explosions that left the air over the village cloaked in drifting clouds of smoke, Nitori shot off the grand finale. The explosions reverberated across Gensokyo's many mountainsides and valleys for several seconds... and that was it.

The show was over, and with it, the only thing motivating Marisa to pay even the least bit of attention to the outside world. She slumped down onto her side, and it took all of her presence of mind to scoot back through the shrine's door before she gave up _entirely_. She just felt dead, and not in the literal way. Still couldn't even cry, so she just had to lay here feeling broken until she worked up the resolve to go somewhere else.

With such a mental state, Marisa wasn't even sure how many hours she'd been laying there when somebody settled onto the shrine's front step. Her gaze drifted up, operating on pure reflex, and it took a moment for what she was seeing to really register. Reimu was standing in front of her.

Reimu was standing in front of her and, it slowly dawned on her, looked as lost and surprised as Marisa felt. As her consciousness struggled to piece itself back together, the other details of the scene slowly dawned on her. Reimu's eyes were red and raw, and her hair was held into a pair of dango buns by two slim silver pins. They would have looked elegant and cute if they hadn't gotten a little disheveled and loose at some point.

“You're... still here,” Reimu said softly, after the two had sat in silence for easily ten seconds.

“Y-yeah...” As Marisa drifted back to awareness, she realized that she probably looked pretty pathetic laying on the floor and pushed herself up to sitting. Reflexively, she wiped at her eyes. It was an excuse to avoid meeting Reimu's gaze while she collected her thoughts, rather than any need to dry tears. “Did you see the fireworks?”

“I saw them...” Reimu's voice tapered off uncertainly. “I thought you were—that you had something to do?”

Marisa hesitated. She still had no idea where Reimu had been or why she'd left in the first place. There was no telling how she'd react if she spoke her mind. But...

But screw it. If Reimu was disgusted and spat in her face, it would at least be _something_. She could deal with that. Better than spending the rest of eternity wondering. “W-well,” Marisa mumbled, before pushing herself up and rising slowly to her feet. “That's what I'm here for.”

The color drained from Reimu's face, and her entire body went rigid. “You still haven't...?”

“Yeah... sorry. It's not over yet.” Seeing Reimu look like she was about to collapse to the floor, Marisa took a quick step forward, steadying her with one hand and sliding the other arm behind her for a reassuring squeeze. She needed to just say her piece now before she lost all resolve, but it was getting harder by the second. She opened her mouth to do it... and froze. Once she said it, there was no going back. For all she knew, she'd vanish then and there.

It was a sickening feeling... but one that she'd had days to mull over. Here and now, with Reimu in her arms, she felt just brave enough to push past it. “H-hey, Reimu. The thing is, uh. The reason I-I'm here, I mean.” She'd been tensing up, bracing for the moment when she vanished, and now made herself focus very consciously on relaxing. “Reimu, I kinda, u-um... I kinda love you, okay?”

“That's... what I was afraid of.”

Reimu's voice was quivering by the end of the sentence, and the last of the force drained from her muscles. Marisa guided her to the floor as gently as she could, half-dazed herself. She'd said it. It was over. She'd barely thought about what came next ever since her death... and when she did, it was vague, uncertain promises of her and Reimu kissing under the fireworks. Laying on the floor of the shrine, with an uncertain response and Reimu starting to sniffle against her shoulder, was all a bit more... messy than her projections.

“What do you mean?” Marisa said, uneasily raising a hand to wrap behind Reimu.

“Y-your...” Reimu's voice cracked, and she took a moment to steady herself. At least she didn't seem to be outright sobbing. Maybe she'd gotten it all out earlier. “That's why you were here, r-right? Because of me?”

“Oh. Yeah...” So Reimu had already figured it out. Then that meant... if Marisa had still had a heart, she was sure it would be shattering right now. She reflexively cleared her throat to keep her voice steady before saying, “You were avoiding me.”

Reimu nodded glumly, her face still pressed in against Marisa's shoulder. “I couldn't... I didn't want to think about you disappearing. I know I wasn't going to be able to avoid you forever, but I'd just thought that maybe... a few more hours might help or something. I don't know.” Reimu gave a last loud sniff, pushed herself back, and started wiping her eyes self-consciously. “And then you did it anyway...”

Marisa had been ready to collapse into despair again, but now froze. Fumblingly, she pulled back from Reimu, giving the shrine maiden room to breathe while she gathered her own thoughts. “S-so, um, does that mean that...?”

“That I like you? Yeah.” Reimu seemed to have stopped crying for the moment, but kept staring down at the floor. “I couldn't say anything before, and then you died and I didn't want to make things worse... jeez, I'm pathetic.”

“I think we're both kinda bad at this,” Marisa said, and even managed a weak laugh afterward. The tension was slowly draining out of her now, replaced by the first tentative hope that she'd felt all evening. She glanced down at herself and, thankfully not finding that she was dramatically fading from view or anything, said, “S-so, uh, I don't actually know what happens now. I feel...” She felt... much better, actually. That unnatural _craving_ that she'd felt for Reimu earlier had subsided, replaced by much more controllable desires. She wanted to be with Reimu, and spend an entire evening on her step drinking tea and talking to her about fights they'd had five years ago, and tease her over the goofy-looking blush she got whenever she was upset... She was still in love with Reimu, but it was no longer the defining feature of her existence. “I kinda feel like that's what I was here for, but it looks like I'm still here, huh?”

“Maybe we were worried about nothing.”

“Yeah...” Marisa wasn't really convinced, but in her increasingly giddy mood, she wasn't about to let it slow her down. She reached over and, for the second time this week, grabbed Reimu's hand. “Wanna see how long it lasts?”

* * *

At some point during the night, the pair had decided to move up onto the roof of the shrine. They'd come up here regularly when they were younger, spending long nights whispering secrets to each other. Once they'd gotten old enough that the shrine's roof occasionally creaked in protest at the weight, they'd thought twice about the practice... but tonight was a special occasion. Reimu had even hauled a pot of tea and two cups up, giving them something to keep them warm as the night cooled down.

Drinking while laying on the sloped roof was a bit difficult, and it was being made more so by the way that Reimu would barely let go of Marisa's hand for a second. Somehow, they were making it work anyway.

“So what'd you think of the fireworks, anyway?” Marisa said, as she carefully settled her cup onto a section of the roof just lightly-sloped enough that it wouldn't slide off.

“They were pretty. I was crying too hard to see a lot of them, but the ones I did see...” Reimu trailed off, blushing, then tensed up and looked back to Marisa. “And was the big red-and-white one supposed to mean something?!”

“Hehe. That was the third version of that one, even. The first one just said 'I LOVE REIMU HAKUREI' in, like, ten-meter characters.”

“You're making that up.”

“Hey, the _second_ one said, 'REIMU'S GOT A CUTE BUTT,' but I thought that was probably a bit personal. … that one survived the fire, you can have it if ya want it.”

“Cute butt...? H-hey!” With the way that Reimu jerked, Marisa was half-afraid that she was going to jump up and drag her to her feet. “If a rocket like that exists, I'll just have to destroy it.”

“Hehe. Yeah, but it's true, though.” Marisa left it at that, already feeling quite embarrassed enough for one night. This flirting stuff was easy when she was just doing it to throw people off-balance, but it somehow felt more awkward when she actually meant it. She carefully rolled away from her drink and over to face Reimu again. The moon was almost completely dark tonight, and on top of the shrine, there weren't exactly a lot of light sources. The only light on Reimu's face was the soft glow from Marisa's slowly-drifting phantoms overhead, casting hazy shadows around the pair. “H-hey, Reimu...?” She gave the girl's hand a squeeze and scooted a little closer.

“Huh?”

“I, uh.” Before Marisa could finish her thought, her leg brushed against something. She didn't even get a chance to see it before it went careening down the rooftop, then crashed against the ground below with the unmistakable sound of shattering glass.

“... that was my only teapot,” Reimu said with a sigh, sitting up just a little to inspect the damage over the roof's edge. She seemed to recover quickly, though, and smiled to Marisa as she settled back down. “You were saying?”

“Oh. Um.” Marisa's thoughts had been pretty effectively derailed by the accident, and it took a moment to drag them back on track. “Thanks for... bein' okay with the whole ghost thing and whatever. Maybe if I'd said something while I was alive, I'd still be... y'know. Alive.”

“We both messed up,” Reimu said, and scooted in to close the last gap between them. Whatever she'd planned to say next was lost as she blinked in mild surprise. “Oh. You're warm.”

“Yep!” Marisa said, and rolled onto her back to make the position a bit more comfortable, tugging Reimu along and up against her side. “That's the benefit of datin' a ghost, you know. Warm human bits to hold in the winter, cold phantom bits for the summer. Not to brag, but I'd make a pretty versatile girlfriend like that.”

“Girlfriend, hmm?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I like the sound of that...” Reimu said with a yawn, leaning in to rest her head against Marisa's shoulder.

Marisa smiled at that, taking a moment to relax and enjoy the warmth, herself. “Sleepy?”

“Mmh. A little,” Reimu admitted. “But I don't really want to fall asleep yet...”

“Well, I'm not goin' anywhere if I can help it,” Marisa said, and carefully rearranged her position to grab Reimu's hand again. “I've hung around this long. Maybe it'll last. You'll be like seventy years old and wrinkly, an' I'll still look like this.”

“That's not fair. If I'm an old lady, you have to be an old lady ghost.”

“Not how it works. Sorry, I don't make the rules.”

“Like you've ever let rules stop you,” Reimu said. She stifled another yawn and squirmed a bit to get more comfortable. The ensuing silence lasted long enough that Marisa was starting to worry that Reimu had fallen asleep, until she murmured, “Do you remember when we were little, and you'd bring me out here and talk about stars for half the night?”

“Huh? Yeah, I guess so.”

“Tell me about some stars. Your voice will keep me awake until you're gone.”

“I said I wasn't going anywhere,” Marisa said weakly, but couldn't protest much further. She could feel it too. There was no way this could last. She tilted her head back against the slope of the rooftop, and her eyes sought out familiar constellations to orient herself. “But fine, I guess. So, um. Okay. There're these ones here, kinda in a zig-zag,” she said, pointing them out with her free hand even though Reimu's eyes were closed. “That constellation's called Serpens. It's pretty important for if you're doin' healing rituals. I don't really know much about that stuff, but Patchouli can patch you up pretty good when it's in the sky.”

“Mmhm.”

“There's actually this other constellation that's a guy wrestlin' it. Some kinda old outside world myth. I think that's where it came from, he used to rip snakes up and heal people with them or something. Anyway, there are two meteor showers that come from there in the winter, so I like to keep track of that one to...”

* * *

Reimu hadn't even known that she was falling asleep until she was jolted awake by her head dully thudding against the shrine's roof. She pushed herself up to sitting, rubbing the side of her face sorely and blinking against the first light of dawn.

The breeze picked up a little, and Reimu raised a hand to shield her eyes. And then, she noticed it: Barely a meter away, snagged on the shrine's ill-maintained roof, a red ribbon was fluttering in the wind.


	11. Epilogue

“UUUUURAMESHIIIIYAAAAA!” Marisa bellowed as she slowly rose from behind a tombstone. Blood poured down the side of her face, shrouding one closed eye and splashing down to stain her clothes. It didn't seem like a coincidence that at that exact time, the evening clouds moved to block the sun, and when she opened her eyes, they glowed a fiery red in the ensuing darkness. Around her, her phantoms burst into ghastly blue flames, casting stark shadows across her face.

From a few meters away, her sole victim screamed, then scrambled to cower behind a tombstone. Marisa watched this display proudly for a moment, then sighed. “Jeez. Wait, hold up,” she said. The sunlight slowly returned to its normal levels, and she handily shook the blood from her face and wiped it from her outfit, leaving both spotless. “How am I supposed to teach you to scare people if that's how you react?”

“Oh! Um. Sorry...” Kogasa said, as she sheepishly rose from her hiding spot. After brushing the dirt from her clothes, she tilted her head back to look up toward the sun. “It really was scary! I don't know if I could do most of that, though... the sun thing seems pretty hard, and, um, umbrellas don't really have blood to work with...”

“Yeah, it's just an example. Yuyuko had to teach me how to do a lot of that stuff, so I don't think it's even that easy for ghosts...” Marisa crossed her arms thoughtfully. “If you want something simple, try focusin' on your voice. That'd be a good thing to work on for starters.”

“Oh no, I should be writing this down...”

“Well, that's all the advice I've really got right now anyway. I was actually just stopping by to check something...”

“Oh! I'm sorry to interrupt you.” Despite Kogasa's statement, she trailed along as Marisa made her way deeper into the graveyard. “I don't think I've ever seen any other ghosts in here... um, unless some of those weird people in that mausoleum were ghosts. I'm not really sure.”

“Well, one of 'em is, but I doubt she was visiting. Most of the ghosts from this place have moved on by now, I think. This place is pretty old.”

“Oh... I never thought about that. The spirits of all of the trees and stuff are really old and cranky, so I guess that makes sense.”

“Uh-huh.” Pushing past rows of overgrown, weathered tombstones, the pair approached the back of the graveyard. One grave marker at the very back stood out, far too new to blend in with the others. The grass was still growing back where it had been put into place. Unlike the family plots that filled most of the cemetery, it was a plot for a single inhabitant, with a single name on the front. Kogasa frowned at the kanji as she tried to piece them together. “K-kiri... kirisam... oh! That's you.”

“Yeah.” Marisa came to a stop in front of the grave and crossed her arms, inspecting it critically. Somebody had left offerings, a handful of flowers sitting in the small vase on the front and a few burnt sticks of incense. “I don't know what that stuff's supposed to do for me, you know? It's not like I'm going to smell the incense when I'm up the road at the shrine or something.”

“Huh... It's a nice thing to do, though, isn't it?”

“Nice isn't really gonna cut it at this point,” Marisa mumbled, as she squatted down and inspected the flowers. White chrysanthemums. Kinda plain. She'd gotten here soon enough that they still looked pretty healthy, at least. She bundled them up, then pulled them out of the vase before standing.

Kogasa looked around nervously as she watched this. “A-are you allowed taking those?”

“Why not? They're my flowers, right?” Grinning, Marisa tucked the flowers away in her clothes and out of sight. “I need to get these things back into water before they wilt.” Already, she was backing away, but before she took off, added, “Remember, keep practicin' your voice! Ya sound like a scared kitten half the time!”

* * *

The review of Marisa's life had taken four hours, but she could still remember every second of it.

Eiki had patiently studied her mirror, noting the significance of every notable deed and misdeed, before delivering her judgment. “Spirit of the deceased, Marisa Kirisame,” she'd said formally, folding her hands on her quite impressive desk. “Now that you've reviewed your entire existence, how do you feel about it? Do you regret the weight of your sins?”

“W-well, uh,” Marisa had said, before remembering to at least try having a little decorum. “I mean. I guess I did some not great stuff, but... I did some pretty good stuff too? And I feel like I gave most of what I stole back. Well, at least half of it. So, um. Overall, I... think I'm getting better, at least?”

Eiki's piercing gaze had stayed on her for long seconds, then the yama gave the slightest nod of her head. “I have to agree. Your life is heavy with sins, and your worldly desires are many. A soul like yours could never pass to Nirvana without reincarnation.” Seeing Marisa prepare to protest, she'd held up her hand for silence before continuing. “... however. Your bonds with others mostly improve their lives, and you've grown more reflective as you've gotten older. Allowing you to reincarnate now would risk losing the wisdom that you're still gaining, and your sins are too light for Hell.”

“U-uh.” It had taken Marisa's utmost effort to stay calm. “Okay.”

“Under the circumstances, I feel like the best thing for your moral growth is to allow you to develop further in this incarnation.” Raising her Rod of Remorse, the yama had pointed it straight at her face. “Marisa Kirisame, you are to remain in the realm of the Netherworld as a ghost until you are enlightened enough to pass to your next life. If you have any protests, speak them now.”

Marisa could swear that she'd detected the hint of a smile on Eiki's face as she delivered the verdict.

* * *

Marisa was quite pleased with herself as she made her way up the steps and into the shrine, humming under her breath. The flowers had gotten a bit crumpled from sitting inside of her clothes during the flight from the graveyard, but with a little smoothing, they looked good as new. Almost. About as good as second-hand grave offerings were going to, at least. It took a few minutes of searching, but she was able to dig a suitable cup out of one of Reimu's mostly empty cabinets, then filled it with water and plopped the flowers into it.

Just in time, too, since she'd barely even managed to slide the impromptu flower arrangement onto the kotatsu before the door slid open. Standing on the other side, Reimu paused in surprise. "You're here early."

"Yeah. Did you know they start getting ready for the spring flower-viewing parties, like, four months early? Youmu's so high-strung right now that she's about to slash anything that moves, so I figured I'd go out for some air."

"Right, we wouldn't want you to die," Reimu agreed, playfully sarcastic. Smirking, she stepped into the shrine and pushed the door closed behind herself.

"Hey, that one sword of hers can send you straight to Nirvana. That stuff's scary when you're a ghost."

"Mmhm." Reimu gave Marisa a kiss on the cheek before settling down next to her at the table, then frowned. "... where did the flowers come from?"

"Oh! Do ya like 'em?"

"They're pretty! I didn't know there were many flowers growing at this time of year..."

"Well, they grow 'em special for funerals and things."

Reimu had been leaning over to sniff the flowers, but now froze. "Where did these come from?"

"They were grave offerings..." Marisa admitted, and winced slightly as Reimu pushed the vase away. "... but it was my grave, so it wasn't stealing or anything!"

"It's still pretty weird."

"Sorry." Marisa went silent after that. She knew what she'd come here to talk about... but admitting that she needed to talk about it, that was the hard part. Even after months of dating Reimu, being open about this sort of thing was a bit difficult. "I, um... I think my dad's the one who left 'em." With a dismissive snort, she leaned back away from the table, propping herself up with her hands. "Pretty stupid, huh? He doesn't talk to me for five years, then pulls somethin' like that once I'm dead."

"Yeah..." Reimu said, glancing at the flowers again. "Maybe it means he's sorry...?"

"He picked a heck of a time to realize it."

"Mmhm." Reimu slipped her arm behind Marisa's back, giving her a soft squeeze and pulling her close.

Well. That certainly seemed to have killed the mood. Marisa felt a bit guilty for burdening Reimu with it, but it was nice to have it off of her chest, at least. Still, it was on her to lighten things up a little. "Y'know what, though? I think I'm gonna have enough to get the mini-hakkero back by the end of the week. I would've gotten it today, but Kourin's being stingy about the interest."

"Good," Reimu said, leaning her head down to rest on Marisa's shoulder. "I'm getting out of practice without somebody to duel with."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to kicking your butt."

"That's not what happened last time."

"But now I know your secret weakness."

"I don't have a secret weakness."

"Do too."

"No, I don't."

"Yeah, well, what do ya call..." As subtly as she could, Marisa slid her free hand down to hover over Reimu's stomach. "This!" Without warning, she pushed her fingers in and under Reimu's top, tickling her tummy directly.

"M-marisa!" Reimu managed only a single firm shove in retaliation before it was too much. Giggling uproariously, she gave a few weak kicks in Marisa's direction even as she retreated across the floor.

Marisa didn't let up for a second. She kept up the assault, pressing forward ruthlessly until Reimu was on her back, then leaned in over her to keep her pinned to the floor. Only when Reimu had been thrashing beneath her for a good thirty seconds did she let up, cackling in victory. "See, now I've had enough time to learn all your weaknesses and stuff. You don't stand a chance, shrine maiden."

"We'll s-see about that," Reimu said, with her voice still shaking as she caught her breath. 

"It's a science fact. I'm gonna beat you up and take over the shrine."

"W-whatever you say."

"Gonna haunt the _fuck_ outta the shrine."

"Uh-huh. Can you at least get off of me first?"

"Nah. I'm comfy up here." Still grinning, Marisa leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Reimu's lips. “I'm not goin' anywhere.”


End file.
